Fra angelico annunciation fresco

 

The Annunciation at San Marco Convent (North Corridor)

Dominican monks at San Marco followed a life of strict, devout worship and lived in simple, humble cells. Fra Angelico's Biblical art (concerning the Life and in particular the Passion of Christ, as well as regular themes like The Annunciation, The Adoration of the Magi, The Descent From the Cross, Madonna and Child with Angels and Saints, and others) were designed to aid their meditations and inspire their devotions.

Fra Angelico's deeply moving Annunciation - which depicts the Virgin being told by Archangel Gabriel that she is to bear the child Jesus - located on the south wall of the north corridor, was deliberately positioned on the upper floor in front of the staircase, as an illusionary window, which looked out onto a garden and cloistered area.

In this way, the artist brought the sacred scene of the Annunciation into the monks' perceived world of physical reality.

Com Fra Angelico - Wikipedia PETI