Fra Angelico's Early Masterpiece Restored in Florence

The San Domenico altarpiece by Fra Angelico, his first major large-scale work from the early 1420s, has undergone a comprehensive restoration funded by Friends of Florence. The altarpiece, originally created for the convent of San Domenico in Fiesole, was later modified by Lorenzo di Credi in 1501, who removed partitions, downsized the throne, and replaced gold with a landscape. Over centuries, it was broken up, looted, and damaged by restorations and insects. In 2024, the panel was taken down for restoration ahead of a Fra Angelico exhibition at Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and Museo di San Marco. Conservator Roberto Buda addressed structural instability by creating a chestnut frame with springs, while Daniele Rossi treated the painted surface by removing oxidized varnish, filling losses with gesso and glue, and retouching with watercolors. Antonella Ranaldi, director of Florence and Prato's cultural heritage office, called the restoration a case study for future restorers.