Angelico, << an JAY lee koh or an JEHL uh koh, >> Fra (1400?-1455), was an Italian painter. He combined the clarity of form, linear perspective, and light and shade of the new Renaissance style with the flowing line, brilliant color, and symbolism of earlier medieval painting.
Fra Angelico was born in Vicchio, Italy, near Florence. He was born Guido di Pietro. He became a Dominican monk in Fiesole about 1418 and took the name Fra Giovanni da Fiesole. He was a man of legendary piety and came to be called Fra Angelico (angelic brother).
In 1450, Fra Angelico became prior of the Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence. Some of his most famous altarpieces, painted in the 1430’s, can be seen in the museum of his work in San Marco. He and his assistants also painted the walls of the monks’ cells in San Marco with religious images using a technique called fresco. In 1445, Fra Angelico was called to Rome where he painted in the Vatican for two popes during the next five years. He also worked in Orvieto and again in Florence before his death on Feb. 18, 1455.
