The 18th of February is the Feast day of Blessed Fra Angelico (c. 1395 – February 18, 1455). He is the patron saint of Catholic artists.
Blessed Fra Angelico lived between 1387 and 1455, and was born Guido di Pietro in Tuscany, Italy. He later became a famous Renaissance painter. Blessed Fra Angelico would pray before he painted, his belief was that he needed to be Christlike in order to paint Christ perfectly. In 1407 he joined the Dominican Order and received the name of Brother John, or Angelic Brother John, or Fra Angelico (Angelic Friar) due to his holiness. He moved to the Friary in San Marco, Florence where there was an artistic community and gained the patronage of the Medici family thanks to his artistic talents. He worked on Saint Peter’s Basilica in various chapels in 1445 and was a prior to the convent in Fiesole from 1449 till shortly before he died. He is buried in the Dominican church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.
Blessed Fra Angelico lived between 1387 and 1455, and was born Guido di Pietro in Tuscany, Italy. He later became a famous Renaissance painter. Blessed Fra Angelico would pray before he painted, his belief was that he needed to be Christlike in order to paint Christ perfectly. In 1407 he joined the Dominican Order and received the name of Brother John, or Angelic Brother John, or Fra Angelico (Angelic Friar) due to his holiness. He moved to the Friary in San Marco, Florence where there was an artistic community and gained the patronage of the Medici family thanks to his artistic talents. He worked on Saint Peter’s Basilica in various chapels in 1445 and was a prior to the convent in Fiesole from 1449 till shortly before he died. He is buried in the Dominican church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.