Fra Angelico: San Marco, Florence (The Great Fresco Cycles of the Renaissance) [Hardcover]

William Hood (Author), Fra Angelico (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: The Great Fresco Cycles of the Renaissance | Publication Date: October 1995

The cloister of San Marco was the home of on e of the greatest Renaissance painters, Fra Angelico. Betwee n 1440 and 1452, he and his assistants covered the entire co mplex with over 50 frescoes, designed within the traditions of the Dominican order. '

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Fra Angelico, a Dominican monk, covered the walls of the Church of San Marco in Florence with elegant frescoes from 1440 to 1452. These two books treat those paintings in different ways, adding to their mystery and reality. Hood's presentation in Braziller's series provides a basis for understanding the paintings and the artist who produced them. In this two-part book, the introductory first part is divided into four sections, covering the architecture of the church and cloister; biographical background on the artist; information on the frescoes and their placement, which reveal the political climate of the day; and Fra Angelico's virtuosity and technical ability. The second part contains full-page color plates and commentaries on the frescoes. Hood acknowledges that French scholar Didi-Huberman was the first to apply medieval and Renaissance scholastic thought to analysis of the San Marco frescoes. Didi-Huberman uses the frescoes as a starting point to discuss how they conjure up philosophical and theological questions from holy scripture and authors such as Albertus Magnus, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, etc., that Fra Angelico, as an observant, 15th-century Dominican friar, would have known and meditated on daily. Angelico's access to the prestigious library at San Marco provided a wealth of texts that would have been integral to the thinking of that community and contributed to the knowledge used in the production of the frescoes. This translation is difficult reading, with many Latin words and phrases. Readers who would like a less densely written account of the paintings in their historical context might consult Hood's unique work Fra Angelico at San Marco (LJ 6/15/93), which discusses the meaning of Dominican life at San Marco and its influence on choice of subject matter in the frescoes. Didi-Huberman can be appreciated by the medieval and Renaissance scholar, philosopher, or theologian and is recommended for special collections. Hood appeals to a wider audience of travelers and lay readers, as well as art historians and students, and is recommended for special and public collections.?Ellen Bates, New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 127 pages
• Publisher: George Braziller (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807613932
• ISBN-13: 978-0807613931
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,181,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Art /Great Book, August 7, 2007

By 

Winston hough "klee fan" (Glenview, Il. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fra Angelico: San Marco, Florence (The Great Fresco Cycles of the Renaissance) (Hardcover)

First rate elegant book on Fra Angelico.Excellent reproductions of an artist that Rothko preferred to any other artist of this period . There is a vellum transparent cover over each reproduction.This is effective in protecting the colored reproductions.