April 2: a favorite Fra Angelico
A FAVORITE FRA ANGELICO
Fra Angelico (1395-1440) produced many fine paintings, but this one engages particularly by the boldness of its abstraction. We have two vignettes, subtly united: the bottom of the bed platform aligns with the base of the wall in the right half; the curtain rod aligns with the top of the doorway; the little window on the right echoes the large doorway on the left; Damian’s colors, robe shapes, and halo are repeated; Palladia’s head in the right half is the focal point of all the receding lines.
![[National Gallery of Art]](http://www.stanwashburn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Fra-Angelico-Healing-of-Palladia-by-Saints-Cosmas-and-Damian-c.1440.jpg)
“The Healing of Palladia by St. Cosmas and St. Damian” c. 1440 14 x 18″ [National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.]