DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68073#0062
36
OLD WORLD MASTERS
ground is gold. The dimensions of each are 14% x 10 inches. Both
pictures were long in the Collection of the Duke of Hamilton at
Hamilton Palace; and afterwards were in the Collection of Mr. John
Edward Taylor and in that of Mr. Carl W. Hamilton. In an un-
published letter regarding these works Mr. Berenson writes:
“They are among the sweetest, purest, and most candid of Fra
Angelico’s paintings. I could not easily point to others which better
justify the surname of 'The Angelic’ given to this artist, who was so
great that he was child-like. These panels date from about 1425,
that is to say from the best year of Fra Angelico’s maturity. They
show his best self, emancipated from the cramping traditions he was
heir to, but not yet showing sign of spiritual fatigue leading finally
to his painting a little by rote. In coloring they are exquisite; and
for pictures five centuries old, they are almost miraculously well pre-
served.”
Vasari’s words show how deeply Fra Angelico was appreciated by
men who lived closer to his time than we:
“This truly angelic father spent his whole life in the service of
God and his fellow-creatures. He was a man of simple habits and
most saintly in all his ways. He kept himself from all worldliness
and was so good a friend to the poor that I think his soul must be
already in Heaven. He worked continually at his art, but would
never paint anything but sacred subjects. He might have been a
wealthy man, but he did not care for money and used to say that true
riches consist in being content with little. He might have enjoyed
high dignities both in his convent and in the world, but he cared
nothing for these things, saying that he who would practice painting
has need of quiet and should be free from worldly cares; and that he
who would do the work of Christ must live continually with Him.
He was never known to be impatient with the Brothers,—a thing to
me almost incredible! When people asked him for a picture he always
replied that, with the Prior’s approval, he would try and satisfy their
wishes. He never corrected or retouched his works, but left them as
he first painted them, saying that such was the will of God. He never
took his pencil up without a prayer and could not paint a Crucifixion
OLD WORLD MASTERS
ground is gold. The dimensions of each are 14% x 10 inches. Both
pictures were long in the Collection of the Duke of Hamilton at
Hamilton Palace; and afterwards were in the Collection of Mr. John
Edward Taylor and in that of Mr. Carl W. Hamilton. In an un-
published letter regarding these works Mr. Berenson writes:
“They are among the sweetest, purest, and most candid of Fra
Angelico’s paintings. I could not easily point to others which better
justify the surname of 'The Angelic’ given to this artist, who was so
great that he was child-like. These panels date from about 1425,
that is to say from the best year of Fra Angelico’s maturity. They
show his best self, emancipated from the cramping traditions he was
heir to, but not yet showing sign of spiritual fatigue leading finally
to his painting a little by rote. In coloring they are exquisite; and
for pictures five centuries old, they are almost miraculously well pre-
served.”
Vasari’s words show how deeply Fra Angelico was appreciated by
men who lived closer to his time than we:
“This truly angelic father spent his whole life in the service of
God and his fellow-creatures. He was a man of simple habits and
most saintly in all his ways. He kept himself from all worldliness
and was so good a friend to the poor that I think his soul must be
already in Heaven. He worked continually at his art, but would
never paint anything but sacred subjects. He might have been a
wealthy man, but he did not care for money and used to say that true
riches consist in being content with little. He might have enjoyed
high dignities both in his convent and in the world, but he cared
nothing for these things, saying that he who would practice painting
has need of quiet and should be free from worldly cares; and that he
who would do the work of Christ must live continually with Him.
He was never known to be impatient with the Brothers,—a thing to
me almost incredible! When people asked him for a picture he always
replied that, with the Prior’s approval, he would try and satisfy their
wishes. He never corrected or retouched his works, but left them as
he first painted them, saying that such was the will of God. He never
took his pencil up without a prayer and could not paint a Crucifixion