www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Beat. (Fra) Angelico, St. Andrei Rublev - sainted artists

On a recent to trip to Italy I learned that Fra Angelico, an artistic monk noted for the frescoes he painted for the monks' cells in St. Mark's Monastery in Florence, Italy, and other wonderful works, had been beatified in 1980 by Pope John Paul II. I know he's Italian, but I am still wondering if an icon has been written of him. I was fortunate to view his altarpiece of the Annunciation in the Diocesan Museum in Cortona. The wings of St. Gabriel shimmer as he kneels before the Virgin. Truly wondrous.

Up until now I was unaware of an artist or iconographer of the churches with Rome as a saint. The Orthodox have St. Andrei Rublev, the revered Russian iconographer, whose icon has been written.

Dear Jim,

Fra Angelico is my favorite of all favorite iconographers!
(I REALLY like Giotto too)

I know that he was called 'blessed' for a while. Would his beautification now make him 'saint'???

In Christ,
Alice, who has also been blessed to have gone to Italy and to have seen his works outside of her college classroom screens!

Technically speaking, Fra Angelico's beatification allows him to be revered, and his image can be written with a halo. There is a difference from full sainthood, but it wouldn't restrict private prayers as far as I know. Theodore Romzha has also been beatified, and we have an icon of him in our parish complete with halo, and a reliquary, for the devotion of the faithful. The difference has to do with validated miracles, I believe, but maybe some of the scholars here will be able to provide a definitive answer.

Alice, I also got to see Giotto's frescoes in the Basilica at Assisi. Truly wonderful. NO pictures allowed, though. Had to buy a souvenir book, instead.

I visited and prayed at Fra Angelico's tomb a few years ago. It is interesting that it took so long for him to be beatified. One of the issues at the time was the rule regarding written texts of the saint for review. Since he was not a writer, this became a barrier to his process moving forward. I guess the Dominican postulator for his cause conviced John Paul the Great that Fra Angelico's iconography was sufficient testimony to his orthodoxy. The pope was conviced and beatified him.

That story really impressed me about JPII.

Gordo

PS: His St. Dominic still inspires awe in me whenever I see it.

PPS: Here is a picture of his tomb It is located right next to St. Catherine of Siena's tomb.

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN [images.google.com]

Where is Beat. Angelico's tomb?

I doubt any icons have been written of Fra Angelico.

But, moving towards a western tradition, I do have a retablo written for him. It shows him painting the Transfiguration at St. Mark's.

Retablos are, for lack of a better term, "New Mexican" icons. Traditional New Mexican religious artwork includes not only colorful statues but also paintings on a piece of wooden board.

If there's some way to post pictures to this site I can take a picture of my retablo and post it. Otherwise, you can see some retablos at:
www.nmsantos.com. [nmsantos.com.] Go around the site, and then go to either the "links" section to see some retablos and other forms of New Mexican religous artwork.

I'd also recommend the book "A Sense of Mission: Historic Churches of the Southwest", available at amazon.

Marc

Thanks, Gordo and Marc, for the additional information.

It would be good to see the retablo, if you manage to download a photo, Marc.

Gordo, you surprised me when you said Fra Angelico's tomb was by St. Catherine of Siena, until I realized that St. Catherine is enshrined both in Rome and Siena, where we viewed her head in a chapel, above its altar. Her body is as you identified, in Rome.

This trip brought us to the tombs of a great many saints- St. Margaret of Cortona, St. Francis and St. Clare in Assisi among others, St. Fine (I think in San Gemignano, but it might have been another hilltown), St. Catherine, to name a few.

Yes, I saw those amazing paintings in Florence a couple of years ago. I have some art books of his paintings. I guess he is the only sainted painter.

He was honored as a Blessed in the Dominican order for centuries before he was officially beatified by the Pope. Popes would do this to people who were locally venerated by the people.
(Another who comes to mind is St. Margaret of Hungary.)

I forgot. A Franciscan lay-brother, Ven. Caludio Gransotto, was a sculptor.

Also, St. Catherine of Bologna, whose body is preserved, drew some drawings. They are considered to be quite good, I understand. Thats all I can think of.

I once stood transfixed for a good long while before Blessed Angelico's Annunciation at San Marco's in Florence; truly glorious. I also visited his tomb in Rome and prayed there. I often allude to his work when I run into a hardscrabble Eastern type who denies that Western art can be sacred art...
-Daniel

Dear Daniel,

While I wholeheartedly agree with you on the sacred and beautiful aspect of Medieval Art (which was my focus for my major), we need to remember that it also was a bridge between Byzantine and Renaissance art...so there is something of a transition from the surreal, other world aspect of the Byzantine to the humanistic of the Renaissance in the religious art of the West....NOT that the art of the Renaissance isn't awesomely beautiful, but as I get older, I *personally* feel that the Medieval period was the primary period in Western Art/iconography that truly captured the sacred and which prompts that feeling within me the most.

Just my thoughts and opinions,
Best regards,
Alice

In the Catholic Church, the formal act of canonization is the last and final stage for a beatus, like Fra. Angelico, to be declared a Saint.

Currently, such declaration of sainthood requires 1 miracle being investigated and proven to be supernatural and, therefore, inexplicable.

Amado

Alice- I agree with you about medieval art; indeed my preference is Romanesque.
However, Fra Angelico was pretty full-blown renaisance, wasn't he? Indeed, I would list the later, baroque El Greco as a sacred artist worthy of the name as well.
I think the difference is that with icons, one who has no great talent can paint an icon worthy of blessing and veneration if he or she follows the canons and the instructions for the technique.
With later Western art a combination of spiritual genius and artistic talent is necessary to achieve the sacred...rare, but possible.
-Daniel

Dear Iconophile,

Fra Angelico lived from the years of approx. 1387-1445, and the Medieval Period is considered by historians to be: 500-1450, so I would say and was taught that Fra Angelico was basically an artist of the Middle Ages, though I suppose he might/could also be considered low Renaissance. You can see the beginnings of stylized artistry in his beautiful icons (which still look like icons).

I think that Michalengelo who proceeded him (1475-1564) into what is considered to firmly be the period of the Renaissance is more indicative of the Renaissance period's highly stylized artistry. Infact, if I remember correctly he is considered one of the founders of the 'High Renaissance'.

Speaking of Bl. Fra Angelico...I know I have said this before, but there is also a hazelnut liquor from Northern Italy called 'Frangelico' and I highly recommend it. It is absolute heaven!

In Christ,
Alice

Dear Friends,

As was stated, the RC West, even after Boniface VIII, beatified people locally and later, Rome either ratified their cults formally or else left them alone.

I once came across some photo books with pictures of Italian saints and beati that included many such beati whose cult was never approved by Rome.

There is Blessed Joachim di Fiore (whose controversial works were found to contain many errors, but he submitted himself to the judgement of the Church in advance, before he died).

Jerome Savonarola has a widespread local cult in Florence and the Dominican Order as a Beatus.

John Duns Scotus, the theologian whose perspectives on the Immaculate Conception were accepted by Rome, was recently beatified by John Paul the Great - but he was beatified locally somewhere in Italy where his veneration has gone on for centuries.

Thomas More was canonized in 1935, but forty years after his martyrdom, papal permission raised him to the altars as a local Martyr of Rome.

There is a Blessed Franciscan, Jacopone da Todi, who will probably never have his local cult approved by Rome since he signed a petition against Pope Alexander VI.

Also, in the medieval period, there was really no difference between the titles, "Saint" and "Blessed."

Sometimes, the different titles were used in an apparent attempt to separate saints from the same locale with the same Christian names.

Thus, there is a St Anthony of Padua and also a "Blessed Anthony the Pilgrim" of Padua.

Although the latter could have been formally canonized, Rome rejected this saying, "One Saint Anthony is sufficient for Padua."

Fra Angelico has enjoyed a local cult in Italy for many years, as well as within the Dominican Order.

Even though such Beati received no formal Roman approval for their cultus, this did not prevent even Masses from being said in their honour or medals struck with rays around their heads with "Blessed" printed on them.

Given the controversy surrounding Savonarola, when St Philip Neri's body was prepared for burial, they found he was wearing a medal of Savonarola around his neck, replete with a small relic!

This fact was actually used by the "Devil's Advocate" during his canonization as a reason why Philip Neri should not be declared a saint . . .

But the Pope of the day ordered this to be "passed over" or "Praetermissus."

There is at least one painting of Savonarola over a doorway at the Vatican, commissioned by a pope, but without any identifying name.

One pope wanted to canonize Savonarola a martyr, but was told it was the Catholic church that had condemned him etc.

The pope then said, "So? It is sin that pollutes, not the confession of sin . . ."

Alex