The Last Judgment (Fra Angelico, Florence)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Last Judgment (tempera on panel) is a painting by Italian Renaissance artist Fra Angelico. It was commissioned by the Camaldolite Order for the newly elected abbott, the humanist scholar Ambrogio Traversari. It is variously dated to c1425, 1425-1430 and 1431. It was originally sited in the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and now is in the museum of San Marco, Florence. It is not to be confused with another Fra Angelico Last Judgement in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
Description
Like most of Fra Angelico's work the iconography is standard for the contemporary treatment of the subject, which was among the commonest for painting in churches, though more often on walls. In the centre of the top of the picture, Christ in Judgement is shown sitting on a white throne with Mary, John, and all the saints judging the living and the dead. He is also surrounded by angels. This depicts him as the ruler of Heaven and Earth, one hand pointing downwards to Hell, the other up to Heaven. The section on the left of the painting shows Paradise. The Seraph Angels here lead the souls of the righteous and pure of heart to a beautiful garden. Here, Paradise is depicted as the Garden of Eden but has a gate with a light, representing Heaven. The section in the middle shows broken tombs. This represents that the dead have come out of their graves and tombs to be finally judged. The right section in this painting depicts Hell. The painting depicts the Demons of Hell torturing the souls of the wicked. The very bottom shows Satan chewing on some of the souls.
