San Marco Altarpiece
| San Marco Altarpiece | |
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| Artist | Fra Angelico |
| Year | 1438–1443 |
| Medium | Tempera on wood |
| Dimensions | 220 cm × 227 cm (87 in × 89 in) |
| Location | San Marco Museum, Florence, Italy |
The San Marco Altarpiece (also known as Madonna and Saints) is a painting by the Italian early Renaissance painter Fra Angelico, housed in the San Marco Museum of Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Cosimo de' Medici the Elder, and was completed sometime between 1438 and 1443. In addition to the main panel depicting the enthroned Virgin and Child surrounded by Angels and Saints, there were 9 predella panels accompanying it, narrating the legend of the patron saints, Saints Cosmas and Damian. Only the main panel actually remains to be seen in the Convent of San Marco, Florence, Italy, today, along with two predella panels depicting saints which were purchased back for the museum as recently as 2007. The San Marco Altarpiece is known as one of the best early Renaissance paintings for its employment of metaphor and perspective, Trompe l'oeil, and the intertwining of Dominican religious themes and symbols with contemporary, political messages.
When the Dominican Order claimed ownership of the church and monastery of San Marco, they realized the buildings had been badly neglected and needed sponsorship to renovate the building.Cosimo de' Medici and his brother Lorenzo di Giovanni de' Medici took it upon themselves to hire architect Michelozzo to rebuild the monastery. As customary, they rededicated the church to include the patron saints, Saints Cosmas and Damian, as well as the original eponym, Saint Mark. The Medici patron saints were prominently included in the dedication to insist to the friars that Cosimo and his wealth played a vital role in the convent's establishment. After acquiring the patronage rights to the choir and high altar in 1438, the Medici brothers executed their plans to replace the existing altarpiece by Lorenzo di Niccolò with one of their own. Cosimo de' Medici commissioned a friar in the Dominican community by the name of Fra Angelico to paint the new altarpiece, as well as additional frescoes in the cells, corridors, and cloister of the rebuilt monastery. But the Medici not only earned the rights to the San Marco monastery, but to other churches as well, extending their territorial presence the whole length of the Via Larga, at the other end of which stood the family residences. and even sponsored the Feste de' Magi, an extravagant performance of the Magi's journey from Herod's Palace in Jerusalem to the stable in Bethlehem. The Medici's direct hand in the affairs of the Feste de' Magi, Florence as a symbol for the Holy Land, and San Marco as the final destination and the symbol of Bethlehem surely served to adulate the Medici position. For the Medici, the festival was more of a political instrument than anything else. Florentines would flock to San Marco to see the actual San Marco Altarpiece during the Festa de' Magi parade when the "Three Kings" entered the choir to pay homage to the Christ Child. The Medici's reign over San Marco and Cosimo's patronage were not just expressions of the Dominican Observance, but a foothold for political development as well.
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