Robert Polidori
Crucifixion with the Virgin and Sts Cosmas, John the Evangelist and Peter Martyr by Fra Angelico #2, Cell 38, Museum of San Marco Convent, Florence, Italy, 2010
archival pigment print mounted to dibond
54 x 44 inches
137.2 x 111.8 cm
137.2 x 111.8 cm
Edition of 5 + 2 APs
Cosimo's Cell and Oratory (Cells 38 and 39) Cells 38 featured in the present work Mulier, ecce filius tuus … ecce filius tuus (John, xix. 26, 27.) “Woman, this is...
Cosimo's Cell and Oratory (Cells 38 and 39)
Cells 38 featured in the present work
Mulier, ecce filius tuus … ecce filius tuus (John, xix. 26, 27.) “Woman, this is your son, this is your son.”
On the north wall of the first room (cell 38), which was probably used by Cosimo as a spiritual retreat, a further Crucifixion was painted. It is similar to the two earlier ones in terms of both spatial sequence and temporal order. Christ is shown against an azurite sky (applied over a pale ground) and is committing St John to the Vigrin as her adopted son (John 19:26-27). The literal fidelity to the Gospel text and the words flowing from Jesus’ lips towards the Virgin and St Cosmas, who are praying side by side at the foot of the cross, reveal that Fra Angelico intended more than merely to represent the act of filial piety. The fresco proclaims the Virgin as the spiritual mother of all believers, and in particular of Cosimo (Cosmas) and his son Piero, who is represented by his namesake, St Peter Martyr. The inclusion of the Medici among the Virgin’s children is thus not a mere gesture stemming from gratitude, but a coherent interpretation of the Gospel.
- P. Morachiello, Fra Angelico The San Marco Frescoes, 1996, p. 297.
Cells 38 featured in the present work
Mulier, ecce filius tuus … ecce filius tuus (John, xix. 26, 27.) “Woman, this is your son, this is your son.”
On the north wall of the first room (cell 38), which was probably used by Cosimo as a spiritual retreat, a further Crucifixion was painted. It is similar to the two earlier ones in terms of both spatial sequence and temporal order. Christ is shown against an azurite sky (applied over a pale ground) and is committing St John to the Vigrin as her adopted son (John 19:26-27). The literal fidelity to the Gospel text and the words flowing from Jesus’ lips towards the Virgin and St Cosmas, who are praying side by side at the foot of the cross, reveal that Fra Angelico intended more than merely to represent the act of filial piety. The fresco proclaims the Virgin as the spiritual mother of all believers, and in particular of Cosimo (Cosmas) and his son Piero, who is represented by his namesake, St Peter Martyr. The inclusion of the Medici among the Virgin’s children is thus not a mere gesture stemming from gratitude, but a coherent interpretation of the Gospel.
- P. Morachiello, Fra Angelico The San Marco Frescoes, 1996, p. 297.