Beato Angelico's Major Exhibition Opens in Florence After 70 Years

A major exhibition on Fra Giovanni da Fiesole, known as Beato Angelico, has opened in Florence, 70 years after the last comprehensive show in 1955. The exhibition is a collaboration between Palazzo Strozzi and the Museo di San Marco, curated by Carl Brandon Strehlke (Curator Emeritus of the Philadelphia Museum of Art), Stefano Casciu (Regional Director of National Museums of Tuscany), and Angelo Tartuferi (former Director of the Museo di San Marco). It features 140 works from museums, private collections, and churches across Europe and the United States. The show places Angelico in the context of his contemporaries, including Lorenzo Monaco (with whom he trained), Masaccio, Filippo Lippi, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Luca della Robbia. The exhibition highlights Angelico's evolution from a late Gothic master to a champion of the Florentine Renaissance, rooted in Giotto's tradition. It also covers his Roman period, including the Niccoline Chapel in the Vatican, commissioned by Pope Eugene IV in 1445. The display includes the Pala Strozzi, the Last Judgment, and works from the Convent of San Marco, with its Medici foundation and Michelozzo architecture. Scientific contributions include 30 restorations and diagnostic analyses that have helped reconstruct works and understand Angelico's techniques. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog published by Marsilio.