Italian, Tuscan, 'Heads of Angels', probably about 1450

These three angels are painted in fresco, the technique of painting directly onto wet plaster. The haloes are gilded and the plaster has been indented using a decoratively shaped tool to create patterns in the gold. The artist has given the impression of a large crowd of angels by showing a number of overlapping haloes behind the heads of these three. The trio gaze in different directions, their heads all cast at slightly different angles; the painter has convincingly made it seem as if we are looking up towards the central angel by showing us the underside of his chin.

We don‘t know which church or monastery these angels once adorned, and from such a small fragment it is impossible to identify the subject of the scene of which they were part. We also aren’t yet sure who produced the fresco, but suggestions have included Sassetta and Sano di Pietro, painters who both worked in the Tuscan city of Siena.

An undated letter stuck to the reverse of the fresco claims that it was acquired in Florence at the ‘Convento delle Poverine, Via della Scala’, which is confusing as the convent is in fact on the Via Tripoli in the city.