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Definition of fra angelico in English English dictionary
- an Italian monk (=a member of an all-male Christian religious group) and painter, famous for the frescoes that he painted on church walls (?1400- 1455). orig. Guido di Pietro born 1400, Vicchio, Florence [Italy] died Feb. 18, 1455, Rome Italian painter and Dominican friar active in Florence. He entered the convent of San Domenico at Fiesole sometime between 1417 and 1425 and began his artistic career by painting illuminated manuscripts and altarpieces. He was influenced by Masaccio's use of architectural perspective. Among his earliest masterpieces is a large triptych, the Linaiuoli Altarpiece (1433-36), executed for the linen merchants' guild; it is enclosed in a marble shrine designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti. His most notable works are frescoes at the convent of San Marco, Florence ( 1440-45), and in the chapel of Pope Nicholas V in the Vatican ( 1448-49). One of the outstanding fresco painters of the 15th century, he influenced such masters as Fra Filippo Lippi; Benozzo Gozzoli was among his students