Fra Angelico and the Masters of the Light at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris

Fra Angelico (1387-1455), Épisodes de la vie de saint Nicolas: la naissance, la vocation et le don aux trois jeunes filles pauvres, vers 1437 © 2011. Photo Scala, Florence.

PARIS.- The exhibition, which brings together nearly 60 works from major international institutions, traces the career of this major figure from the first Florentine Renaissance. The exhibition is also showing some other important artists from the Italian Primitive School who were his contemporaries. Some of them, including Ghiberti, Monaco and Masaccio, had a significant influence on the art of Fra Angelico, while others, such as Gozzoli and Lippi, drew their inspiration from his work. Thanks to the depth of his religious feeling, Fra Angelico embodies sacred art at that decisive turning point between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginnings of the Renaissance, opening up the way for new pictorial creations. A fervent ambassador of “modern” painting, he brilliantly associated the brightness of golds inherited from the gothic style with the laws of perspective, which he was instrumental in creating. Fra Angelico (1387-1455) was a major player in Florence’s artistic and cultural revolution at the beginning of the 15th century. His work combines the golden lustre inherited from Gothic style with a new understanding of perspective. He initiated the artistic movement which specialists have named the « Peintres de la Lumière » (painters of light). Alongside his works will be hung those of renowned painters who significantly influenced his work, such as his teacher Lorenzo Monaco (1370-1424), Masolino (1383-v. 1440) and Paolo Uccello (1397- 1475), as well as artists that he inspired, such as Filippo Lippi (1406-1469) or Zanobi Strozzi (1412-1468). The « Fra Angelico and the Masters of the Light » exhibition is being held in partnership with major Italian museums – including the Uffizi gallery – and internationnaly famous collections. The « Fra Angelico and the Masters of the Light » exhibition is curated by Giovanna Damiani, surperintendant of the Museums of Venice, and Nicolas Sainte Fare Garnot, curator of the Jacquemart-André Museum. It is also supported by Cristina Acidini Luchinat, surperintendant of Florence Museums, Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, and Magnolia Scudieri, director of the San Marco Museum in Florence.