Perugia Altarpiece (left panel) 1448

This panel of the Perugia Altarpiece was painted by Fra Angelico in the first half of the 15th century. It is a glorious testament to institutional power and social values in Renaissance Italy. The panel depicts a Dominican Saint and a Bishop reading. Note how they are framed within golden halos. The care with which Fra Angelico painted their vestments emphasizes their status, but also the financial power of the church institutions for whom he was working. The Church was a powerful political force, but also a patron of the arts, commissioning paintings to communicate Christian messages and values. The visual codes of paintings like this reinforced those values, establishing a clear hierarchy. To gain a deeper understanding of this work, we might look at the Dominican order and the life of the bishop. By examining the social and religious context of its creation we can appreciate the public role of the altarpiece and how the artwork relates to the political structure of its own time.