nce between the former giants of
art, and our saintly artist, he is quite worthy of their glorious
company.

The sweet gentleness of his character was all that hindered him from a
more exact and deep study of reality, but it was precisely by means of
this character that he succeeded, as no one else could do, in
expressing the elevated ideas of his serene and calm soul, profound
inspiration and naive freshness of faith.

In 1455 after a life entirely dedicated to art, Fra Giovanni, at the
age of 68 years, died in Rome, having well earned the grateful
veneration of posterity. The austere virtues of his soul gained him
the title of _Beato_ (blessed) and for the lovely lines traced by his
brush, he was called _Angelico_. A marble monument was erected over
his tomb in the church of the Minerva, with his effigy and the
following inscription, said to have been dictated by Pope Nicholas V.
himself:

HIC JACET VEN. PICTOR
FR. JO. DE FLOR. ORD. P.
M
C C C C
L
V
Non mihi sit laudi, quod eram velut alter Apelles,
Sed quod lucra tuis omnia, Christe, dabam;
Altera nam terris opera extant, altera coelo;
Urbs me Joannem Flos tulit Etruriae.

"Give me not praise for being almost a second Apelles, but because I
gave to thy poor, O Christ, all my earnings. Thus part of my work
remains on earth and part in heaven. My home was in that city, which
is the Flower of Etruria."

[Illustration]

[FOOTNOTES]

[1] Vasari, Sansoni's edition, II, p. 520.

[2] Buckhardt und Boue, _Cicerone_.

[3] _Storia della Pittura_, II, p. 360.

[4] Guido was Fra Angelico's baptismal name in the world.

[5] Marchese, _Memorie dei piu insigni pittori, scultori e architetti
domenicani_, I, p. 267. Bologna, Romagnoli 1878.

[6] Cavalcaselle, _Storia della Pittura_, II, p. 234.

[7] Vasari, _Vita di Masaccio_, II, p. 299.

[8] Museo civico. Sala 6, n. 7.

[9] Cartier, _Vie de Fra Angelico_. Paris, 1857, p. 356.

[10] Vasari, II, p. 518.

[11] Vasari, II, p. 528, note i. The translations from Vasari are
from Bohn's edition.

[12] Ibid., II, p. 528.

[13] Vasari, II, p. 505.

[14] Vasari, vol. II, p. 512.

[15] Translation:

I raise my eyes, sweet Mary I behold,
With book in hand; an angel form is near.

It is the shining angel Gabriel
Who kneels before her in humility,
And saith: "Fear not, pure Virgin, I from heaven
A messenger from God omnipotent