Fra Angelico altarpiece returns to Fiesole after restoration

An early altarpiece by Fra Angelico, created for the church of San Domenico in Fiesole, has been returned to its place after restoration. It is the earliest surviving altarpiece by the artist and likely his first large-format work. The painting depicts the Virgin enthroned with the Christ Child reaching for a bouquet of flowers, surrounded by eight angels and four saints: Saint Barnabas, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Dominic, and Saint Peter Martyr.

During restoration, infrared reflectography revealed original compositional details hidden under changes made in the 16th century by Lorenzo di Credi, who was commissioned to "modernize" the work. Beneath the layer of lapis lazuli added by di Credi, restorers found the original depiction of the Virgin's throne, executed in egg tempera. As conservator Daniele Rossi explained, the throne was painted "as if made of stone and colored marble, like Masaccio's throne in the San Giovenale triptych."

The restoration was completed in time for the major Fra Angelico exhibition held in Florence last autumn at the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and the Museo di San Marco. The return of the altarpiece to the church of San Domenico allows the work to be seen in its historical context and offers new insights into the creative process of the early Renaissance artist.

For collectors and researchers, this event is significant because it reveals the technique and intent of one of the key masters of the Quattrocento, and demonstrates how later interventions can obscure an author's original solutions. The work remains an important monument of religious painting and an example of the interplay between the artistic traditions of Florence and Fiesole.