Florence, Beato Angelico's Last Judgment restored, back on view at San Marco Museum

One of Beato Angelico ’s (Fra’ Giovanni da Fiesole, born Guido di Pietro; Vicchio, c. 1395 - Rome, 1455) masterpieces, the Last Judgement, is back on view at the Museo di San Marco in Florence, and to be exact in the Sala dell’Ospizio (Hospice Hall): in fact, the restoration of the painting, made possible thanks to the contributions of the Rotary Firenze Certosa and other Rotary clubs, has just been completed. The painting is one of the most famous by the Mugello painter, but it is also a work loaded with questions, starting with those concerning its trilobate shape: the reason why Beato Angelico chose this particularity has not been ascertained. Likewise, it is not known why the painting was made, nor what its original location was (Vasari attests to it in the convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli, but perhaps this was not its destination).

Datable between 1425 and 1428, the Last Judgment was perhaps indeed made for Santa Maria degli Angeli, but for the main chapel, where Lorenzo Monaco’sCoronation of the Virgin was already located. Probably the inspiration for the painting’s particular iconographic program was Friar Ambrogio Traversari, prior of Santa Maria degli Angeli, a scholar of patristics, an expert Greek scholar, and an advocate of unity with the Byzantine church: perhaps it was Traversari who commissioned the work, an apocalyptic vision inspired by concepts of peace, love and brotherhood. In the center of the painting, at the top, Christ the Judge is surrounded by angels and raises his right hand toward the resurrected faithful, so as to exhort them to go to the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem, while with his left hand he makes an imperious gesture toward the damned who populate the right side of the scene and are about to enter Hell. Below, we notice the uncovered tombs, which obviously allude to the resurrection of the bodies. Beato Angelico decided to renew the traditional iconography by inserting Old Testament figures close to the apostles and founding saints of the orders alongside figures such as the Madonna and St. John the Baptist. The dance of the blessed to the left for those looking at the work (thus to the right of Christ) becomes the bearer of a harmony particularly consonant with the painter’s style.

The restoration, carried out by Lucia Biondi, aimed to give a new legibility to the work, allowing us to admire Beato Angelico’s vision with greater awareness. The operation is part of the 150th anniversary of the Museo di San Marco: the restoration will be officially presented on Saturday, October 5, at 4 p.m. at the Florentine museum.

Pictured: Beato Angelico, Last Judgment (1425-1428; tempera on panel, 105 x 210 cm; Florence, Museo di San Marco)

Florence, Beato Angelico's Last Judgment restored, back on view at San Marco Museum

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