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Fra AngelicoFra Angelico (1345-1455 AD), brought the divine subject matter “down to earth” and made it approachable and relatable. He introduced the pyramid composition which made figures appear stable, strong and peaceful because of the symmetrical balance. Angelico's devotional pieces are an inspiring display of his passion.
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Download this art project with detailed, step-by-step instructions and a brief biography of Angelico's life and artwork.
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Pyramid Composition Drawing
Study Angelico's famous art piece Madonna and the Saints with dialectic discussion questions. Learn how to draw a figure in the pyramid composition (easy) or with added one-point linear perspective (intermediate). This lesson includes a brief biography of his life and artwork. 
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Angelico's Monastary and Mission
In May, 2017, I visited the Convent of San Marco, in Florence, Italy (Museo del Convento di San Marco) to see for myself the legacy of passion left behind by the famous Renaissance artist, Benedetto Angelico. View the images below and see the numerous unique and personalized murals he painted in each monk's dormatory. View "Annunciation" and download the FREE dialectic discussion questions below for a classroom learning experience.
Download "Annunciation" with dialectic discussion questions here:
| angelio_annunciation_with_questions.pdf |
For more information about this museum, visit:http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/museum_of_san_marco.html
How Were Illuminated Manuscripts Made?
A tour of the San Marcos Library
How Illuminated Manuscripts Were Made:
Text by the Education Department Soprintendenza Speciale P.S.A.E. e per il Polo Museale de Firenze
The Support
Manuscripts were written and decorated on vellum or parchment, which was made from lamb, kid or calf skin. Each hide required a long series of procedures: first it was soaked in lime and water and then scrubbed clean of any hair; it was then dried on stretchers and scraped repeatedly; finally it was rubbed with pumice stone in order to obtain a smooth, thin and resilient surface on which to write and paint. A very thin layer of gesso and glue was often applied to obtain an even smoother and whiter sheet.
How to Prepare a Template
Each parchment was folded in half as many times as needed for a selected size; equally-sized folded parchments were then nested into each other to form a gathering; one manuscript was made up of many gatherings. With the use of a ruler and a square, the scribe (the person who was to copy the text) drew the layout for this page; this was called a template. With a sharply pointed instrument called a stylus, the scribe made tiny holes along the margins of the sheet using a compass to determine equal spaces between each line, which was then traced with the help of a ruler. The text that had to be copied was written with a quill pen made from a goose feather; this too was a resilient tool and its tip was cut at a sharp slant. A penknife served for scraping away mistakes or for corrections.
Gilding
All parts that were to be illuminated with gold highlights or backgrounds needed a very thin layer of glue made from the ultra fine gesso, a reddish coloured clay known as Armenian Bole, parchment glue and honey. In order to bind these ingredients together, a layer of egg white was brushed over them. The surface was ready for the gold leaf, an extremely thin piece of gold which was applied with the use of a knife, after having been cut into segments over a soft cushion. At this point, the illuminator (the artist who decorated the page with illuminations, e.g. miniatures, historiated initials or marginalia) cut away the remaining gold leaf that exceeded the outlines of the drawing and polished it with a burnisher, usually a smooth agate stone or the tooth of a carnivore tied to a wooden stick. All steps taken in preparing an illuminated manuscript were amply described in books throughout the Middle Ages and especially in the 14th century so skills could be handed down to the next generation.
One popular book written around the end of the fourteenth century was entitled “De Arte Illuminandi”.
Illuminations
The artist was now ready to trace the outline of his small pictures and decorations and he did it with the stylus, which left a slight incision on the vellum; these lines could easily be removed by rubbing with a soft piece of bread. Outlines were then gone over with the quill pen dipped in ink, and shading on draperies and faces was obtained by painting over the drawing with a brush dipped in diluted ink.
Paint and Ink
There were eight basic colours for manuscript illuminations: black, white, red, yellow, light blue, purple, pink and green. They were made from pigments found in rocks, plants and animal bones and insects. Sometimes they were made artificially through chemical reactions that were already well-known at the time. Rock pigments were crushed and ground in mortars or over hard stones like porphyry, with pestles and water until they reached the consistency of fine powder; then they were rinsed and dried. Animal and plant pigments were obtained with other procedures, for example by steeping them in liquids, or by burning.
Medium
When ready for use, pigments were mixed with medium inside terracotta cups or even seashells. The most widely used in manuscript illumination were: egg glair, which was made from the liquid that formed under the peaks of egg whites that had been beaten at length with a thick brush; vellum or fish glue, which was obtained from scraps and bones boiled in water; gum arabic which was made from plant found in northern Africa. It was dissolved in water and mixed with honey or sugar and proved to be of such good quality as to replace egg glair from the 14th century onwards.
These substances were finally mixed with natural antiseptics like camphor or cloves, to prevent deterioration. Paint brushes used for small paintings and decorations were very thing and made with the hairs from squirrel tails and sharpened to a point with scissors or by rubbing them over porphyry stone.
Bindings
Once all decorations were completed, the gatherings were grouped into a codex and sewn together along the spine with string or leather strips, called cords, with the help of a frame. The spine was attached to a wooden board that served to protect the codex and formed the cover. Bindings were covered with various materials: leather, calfskin, velvet or silk, depending on the value of the manuscript and the use it was destined for. Leather bindings were usually stampled and had brass corners and studs on the covers which, though decorative, served to protect the contents, keeping the pages flat and preventing moisture from damaging them. Such ornamentation, however, served to protect the codex which had to remain closed in order for the page to stay flat and keep out dampness.
Text by the Education Department Soprintendenza Speciale P.S.A.E. e per il Polo Museale de Firenze
The Support
Manuscripts were written and decorated on vellum or parchment, which was made from lamb, kid or calf skin. Each hide required a long series of procedures: first it was soaked in lime and water and then scrubbed clean of any hair; it was then dried on stretchers and scraped repeatedly; finally it was rubbed with pumice stone in order to obtain a smooth, thin and resilient surface on which to write and paint. A very thin layer of gesso and glue was often applied to obtain an even smoother and whiter sheet.
How to Prepare a Template
Each parchment was folded in half as many times as needed for a selected size; equally-sized folded parchments were then nested into each other to form a gathering; one manuscript was made up of many gatherings. With the use of a ruler and a square, the scribe (the person who was to copy the text) drew the layout for this page; this was called a template. With a sharply pointed instrument called a stylus, the scribe made tiny holes along the margins of the sheet using a compass to determine equal spaces between each line, which was then traced with the help of a ruler. The text that had to be copied was written with a quill pen made from a goose feather; this too was a resilient tool and its tip was cut at a sharp slant. A penknife served for scraping away mistakes or for corrections.
Gilding
All parts that were to be illuminated with gold highlights or backgrounds needed a very thin layer of glue made from the ultra fine gesso, a reddish coloured clay known as Armenian Bole, parchment glue and honey. In order to bind these ingredients together, a layer of egg white was brushed over them. The surface was ready for the gold leaf, an extremely thin piece of gold which was applied with the use of a knife, after having been cut into segments over a soft cushion. At this point, the illuminator (the artist who decorated the page with illuminations, e.g. miniatures, historiated initials or marginalia) cut away the remaining gold leaf that exceeded the outlines of the drawing and polished it with a burnisher, usually a smooth agate stone or the tooth of a carnivore tied to a wooden stick. All steps taken in preparing an illuminated manuscript were amply described in books throughout the Middle Ages and especially in the 14th century so skills could be handed down to the next generation.
One popular book written around the end of the fourteenth century was entitled “De Arte Illuminandi”.
Illuminations
The artist was now ready to trace the outline of his small pictures and decorations and he did it with the stylus, which left a slight incision on the vellum; these lines could easily be removed by rubbing with a soft piece of bread. Outlines were then gone over with the quill pen dipped in ink, and shading on draperies and faces was obtained by painting over the drawing with a brush dipped in diluted ink.
Paint and Ink
There were eight basic colours for manuscript illuminations: black, white, red, yellow, light blue, purple, pink and green. They were made from pigments found in rocks, plants and animal bones and insects. Sometimes they were made artificially through chemical reactions that were already well-known at the time. Rock pigments were crushed and ground in mortars or over hard stones like porphyry, with pestles and water until they reached the consistency of fine powder; then they were rinsed and dried. Animal and plant pigments were obtained with other procedures, for example by steeping them in liquids, or by burning.
Medium
When ready for use, pigments were mixed with medium inside terracotta cups or even seashells. The most widely used in manuscript illumination were: egg glair, which was made from the liquid that formed under the peaks of egg whites that had been beaten at length with a thick brush; vellum or fish glue, which was obtained from scraps and bones boiled in water; gum arabic which was made from plant found in northern Africa. It was dissolved in water and mixed with honey or sugar and proved to be of such good quality as to replace egg glair from the 14th century onwards.
These substances were finally mixed with natural antiseptics like camphor or cloves, to prevent deterioration. Paint brushes used for small paintings and decorations were very thing and made with the hairs from squirrel tails and sharpened to a point with scissors or by rubbing them over porphyry stone.
Bindings
Once all decorations were completed, the gatherings were grouped into a codex and sewn together along the spine with string or leather strips, called cords, with the help of a frame. The spine was attached to a wooden board that served to protect the codex and formed the cover. Bindings were covered with various materials: leather, calfskin, velvet or silk, depending on the value of the manuscript and the use it was destined for. Leather bindings were usually stampled and had brass corners and studs on the covers which, though decorative, served to protect the contents, keeping the pages flat and preventing moisture from damaging them. Such ornamentation, however, served to protect the codex which had to remain closed in order for the page to stay flat and keep out dampness.