Background and career
John of Fiesole (born Guido di Pietro; c. 1395 – 18 February 1455), known posthumously as Fra Angelico ( FRAH an-JEL-ik-oh, Italian: [ˈfra anˈdʒɛːliko]; "Angelic Friar/Brother") or in Italian as Beato Angelico ("Blessed Angelic One"), was an Italian Dominican friar and painter active during the early Florentine Renaissance.
Angelico created a series of frescoes for the Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence, where he received the patronage of Cosimo de' Medici. His works include the San Marco Altarpiece and the Deposition of Christ, both made for the convent of San Marco. Painting exclusively religious subjects throughout his career, Angelico completed commissions in Rome under the patronage of Popes Eugene IV and Nicholas V. Angelico was a pioneer of the artistic trends that came to distinguish the early Renaissance, namely linear perspective and a greater attention to depth and form than had been practised in the late Medieval period.
Angelico was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1982. In 1984, John Paul declared him the patron of artists, especially painters.
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