In the words of Vasari, Fra Angelico has not only been an eminent painter and miniaturist but also an excellent churchman, which makes his compositions so heavenly that they seem to have been directed by God. When one looks at the artist’s expansive gallery, they are reminded of the lost figures and colors with much value, so restorations become necessary in order to appreciate the artist’s art. Recently, Fra Angelico’s significant work, Deposizione di Santa Trinita (Deposition from the Cross) has been restored following a two-year effort only to see the real workmanship of the artist.
The restoration was made possible by generous funds from Friends of Florence, a US non-profit organization, and was carried out by the restorer Lucia Biondi. The work is open to display again in the Museum of San Marco in Florence, restoring depth, perspective, and luminosity.
Fra Angelico was a mystic painter absorbed in contemplating ineffable visions that he depicted during moments of blissful piety. There is no denying the fact that he was a man of saintly habits with the mists of spirituality yet his art was far more complex for 15th-century Florence. His paintings were logical and sacred as their subjects stemmed directly from the religious doctrines of his day.
In his painting, Deposition from the Cross, he enhanced the main action with expansive landscape views in perfect perspective. He further used perspective to position each object as a focal point, guiding the diffusion of light. The divine aspect of the artwork is essential, serving to highlight the most significant moments in the divine tragedy. Dated around 1440, the composition first stood in the church of Santa Trinita at Florence. It is significant to note that it was one of the first large-scale historical paintings by Fra Angelico.
The “Deposition from the Cross” is a carefully planned and thoughtfully composed work. It depicts figures dressed in a style that blends ancient and medieval fashion on the right, which Fra Angelico particularly favored. Among the four or five onlookers, one is holding up the crown of thorns and the nails, which are symbols of the Passion. They tend to have the look of actual portraits, one is known to display Michelozzo, the architect and sculptor who restored the convent of San Marco. On the front, a youth knelt down in worshipful prayer which Angelico painted to portray the philosophers who don’t see the reality of the event beneath their eyes but witness its symbolic side as they stand for docta pietas, the religion of mind. Against this, on the left, the canvas portrays a devout group of women in fervent prayer who shroud the dead Christ to remark the piety of the poor in the spirit, the religion of the heart.
Coming to the restoration, the effort is concluded just at the time when the Angelico exhibition is on its way at the Palazzo Strozzi, due to open in September.
“The Deposition from the Cross is one of the cornerstones of Western art, particularly of the Florentine Renaissance, featured in every art history textbook,” – says Stefano Casciu, regional director of National Museums of Tuscany,
“This restoration is a major event, especially considering the magnificent results, which make the colors, light, volumes, perspective, landscape and refined figures of this absolute masterpiece shine even more.”
The restoration is significant as it is the first to be carried out since the late 1800s and the sole aim of this process was to draw out the transparency and luminosity in the artwork as it became dull and flat, diminishing most of the value in it. There were several diagnostic studies earlier to understand the relationship between Lorenzo Monaco’s contributions and Angelico’s later completion of the main scene and side pilasters, though much remains to be discovered.
The restorer, Lucia Biondi who kept the altarpiece in her house for the last two years remarked,
“Restoring the works of great artists is always a challenging task due to the immense responsibility it entails. However, in the case of Angelico’s Deposition of Santa Trinita, the stakes were particularly high and the project was very ambitious.”
She further adds,
“Fortunately, I was able to draw on my deep connection with Angelico, whose Last Judgement and Pala di Bosco ai Frati I have also restored at the San Marco Museum.”
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