Obscure Christian History of Fra Angelico

Welcome once again to another episode of Obscure Christian History. I'm your host, Mark Yerkes, and today we are in Florence, Italy, looking at some of the characteristics that made the Renaissance what it was. So stand by. Florence, or Firenze as it is called in Italy, is one of the most visited cities of Europe. But, unlike Paris or London, the central core of the historic city and its major sites are completely walkable. And, unlike Rome or Athens, what draws tourists is a specific period of history, measured in hundreds of years rather than thousands. Florence is known for romance and art. The Florentines were the driving force behind the departure from medieval constraints, making Florence a hub for humanism and a return to Greek and Roman classicism in painting, sculpture, architecture, and literature. Truly a place of renaissance, a place of rebirth. Most historians agree that the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD was the beginning of the which lasted for about 1,000 years. But we cannot separate this transition from the influence of Christianity. Christianity spread rapidly from the time it was legalized by Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century, and by the time of Rome's fall, it was the predominant religion of Italy and of the Byzantine Empire to the east. We can understand why many Christians would believe that the sacking of Rome was a judgment from Almighty God, due to its long history of paganism, persecution, and debauchery. The classic sculptures of Greek and Roman gods, especially in their portrayal of realistic nudity, were increasingly rejected as Christianity spread. Soon all human or animal sculpture was suspected as idolatrous. By the 8th and 9th centuries, the church itself, as the iconoclasm arose, found itself in turmoil over this issue. Divisions and violence exploded. Those who believed statues and paintings and even symbolic objects of the faith were idols, and must be removed from churches, battled over those who believed to the contrary. Early church councils bounced back and forth in their decisions on the matter, and, to this day, there is disagreement. The Eastern Orthodox Church and its associated denominations largely do not have statues in their churches as objects of veneration, but they do accept two-dimensional icons of saints, and include Christian symbols on their iconostases, the walls of icons that symbolically separate the congregation from the most holy place where the priest ministers before God. The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, resisted iconoclasm and fully accepts statues and other art, but the move to add the appearance of depth to frescoes and paintings, and to make things look more realistic, did not become prominent until the Renaissance. Just as the transition away from classicism was gradual, so also was the transition from medieval art to Renaissance art. It started with a renewed interest in translating literature of Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato. These works were only available to clerics and scholars. Nevertheless, they opened the reader's minds to think differently about humanity. Humanist thought first influenced the literate elite, who then spread this new way of thinking to others. In 1436, a friar named Giovanni arrived at the recently renovated convent, or friary, of San Marco in Florence as part of a contingent of the Dominican Order. Friar Giovanni had started as an illuminator, painting intricate illustrations in hand-copied manuscripts, but as his skills increased, he moved on to larger works like frescoes and altarpieces. He was a righteous man who dedicated his talents entirely to God, so that all of his works were in the church and for the church. He could appreciate the fact that there was nothing he possessed, including his talent, that was not given to him by the Holy Spirit. In the Amplified Bible, we read, "...all these things, the gifts, the achievements, the abilities, the empowering, are brought about by one and the same Holy Spirit, distributing to each one individually, just as he chooses." And so Giovanni glorified the giver with what he had been given. His piety and humility were such that over the years he became known as Fra Angelico, which translates as Angelic Brother. In 1982, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II. At the moment, I'm standing in the cloister of the church and convent of the Medici. This is called San Marco, and the significance of this place is that it was where Fra Angelico did much of his artwork, which was leading into the Renaissance. Throughout the Middle Ages, images appeared as though on a flat surface without significant depth of field or usage of shadow and light, and the people portrayed in the works were usually posed stiffly and lacked expression. There was ample room for change as the Renaissance began, and Fra Angelico was among the first to challenge these medieval conventions. The Friar created a new genre called Holy Conversations, in which small groups of people or saints are gathered around the central figure as though they are discussing what they are seeing. Fra Angelico's San Marco altarpiece is a marvelous example of this genre, which was also employed by later Renaissance masters like Raphael and Giovanni Bellini. Every Friar's cell eventually contained a fresco meant to evoke reverence and to aid in private worship. Angelico made the figures more lifelike and emotional than previous artists and used a more subdued palette of colors so as not to distract from devotion. Yet his use of perspective and light draws one into the scene. Possibly the most beloved of Fra Angelico's masterpieces is his version of the Annunciation, at the top of the stairs leading to the second floor gallery where the living quarters of the monks were located. If you wish to visit the cells, you will have to climb these stairs, drawing yourself ever closer to the great painting above. Fra Angelico died in Rome in 1455 and his tomb can be visited at the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. A stained glass window depicting the blessed painter holding a brush and finished canvas is a fitting tribute, as are his epitaphs, one of which reads in part, In this place is enshrined the glory, the mirror, and the ornament of painters, Giovanni the Florentine, for who will find another brush like his? He may not have reached the fullest expression of Renaissance art accomplished by such masters as Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo, but he opened the door. He helped free Christian artists to innovate new techniques, and he helped prove the Bible is correct when it says that we are made in God's own image. Like him, we too are creators, and we also should glorify God with the gifts he has given us. Thank you for joining Tess and I on this episode. Do join us again in future episodes. If you haven't done so, we would ask that you subscribe, click the like button if you like our videos, and tell others about it. In the meantime, may God bless.