Fra Angelico Visited by Angels – Paul-Hippolyte Flandrin – Catholic Art Print – Archival Quality

In 1984, Pope John Paul II declared Blessed Fra Angelico the "patron saint of Catholic artists." This painting shows Fra Angelico sunk into grief as he contemplates Jesus dying on the cross out of love for him. Bl. Fra Angelico (1395-1455) was a Dominican friar who used his artistic gifts for the glory of God. In this picture, angles are visiting him; they might have been his muses. One looks like he wants to comfort Brother Angelico; one leaning on the doorframe looks like he is sunk into contemplation of the picture. The one kneeling is reverent before the picture of the Christ, and possibly to the nearness of the crucifixion that Angelico has drawn himself into. Art can have deep links to the faith. In his 1999 Letter to Artists, Pope John Paul II said, "In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art. Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God."Paul-Hippolyte Flandrin (1856-192