Workshop of Fra Angelico, 'The Vision of the Dominican Habit', about 1430-40

The Vision of the Dominican Habit

Workshop of Fra Angelico

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This little scene was once hidden on the inside of a cupboard door – damage on the left hand border shows that there was once a door hinge there. Its reverse – the front of the door – is decorated with abstract patterns.

The story tells how the Blessed Reginald, once the dean to the Bishop of Orleans, became a Dominican friar (a member of the religious order founded by Saint Dominic). Saint Dominic is shown on the right of the column, praying before a vision of the Virgin Mary and two beautiful young women. He is praying for the speedy recovery of Reginald, shown to the left in his sickbed.

The Virgin Mary and the two women also appeared to Reginald and healed him with ointment. They offer him the habit of the Dominican Order which he accepted, joining them.

In-depth

This panel has an unusual origin: it once decorated the inside of a cupboard door. Damage on the left border shows signs there was once a hinge there. The story it tells, that of the Blessed Reginald, is divided into two parts but seems to take place in he same room; the spaces are separated by a column. Reginald was venerated after his death for his holiness (which is why he gained the title Blessed). Some of the so-called Blessed eventually became saints.

Reginald’s legend is told in written accounts of the life of Saint Dominic that date from the thirteenth century. Reginald was the dean to the Bishop of Orléans and travelled to Rome in 1218. When he arrived, he heard about the religious order founded by Saint Dominic – the Dominican Order – and asked to meet him. While he was there he fell ill and Dominic prayed to the Virgin Mary for his recovery; we see him in prayer at the right of the panel. While he prayed he had a vision of the Virgin, who appeared to him with two young women at her side. The Virgin holds out the habit (uniform) of the Dominicans.

On the left of the panel we see Reginald, confined to his sickbed, confronted by the Virgin Mary and the two young women. One holds a jar of ointment and the other anoints him with it. According to the legend, the Virgin offered him whatever he wished but one of the young women told him to submit instead to her will. The Virgin holds out the Order’s black and white habit to him – encouraging him to join the Dominicans. Reginald’s gesture of prayer emphasises his submission to his heavenly visitors: he did become a member of the Order.

The other side (the ‘reverse’) was probably the front of the door, which, when opened, revealed the scene within. It’s painted to resemble marble bordered with a pattern of triangles and circles, which would have transformed the wooden cupboard into something that looked more luxurious. The panel has been cut down at the top and bottom edge; it was probably once joined to other similar scenes, so that the entire interior of the door was decorated with painted stories.

This painting may have been based on a design by Fra Angelico but it was probably painted by a member of his workshop.

Key facts

Details

Full title: The Vision of the Dominican Habit
Artist: Workshop of Fra Angelico
Artist dates: active 1417; died 1455
Date made: about 1430-40
Medium and support: egg tempera on wood
Dimensions: 24.4 × 32.3 cm
Acquisition credit: Presented by Sir Charles Archer Cook, 1919
Inventory number: NG3417
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

Before 1885 owned by the Revd H.E. Richards, Claygate; bought from his widow in 1891 by Sir Charles Archer Cook, by whom presented 1919.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Dillian Gordon, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Fifteenth Century Italian Paintings’, vol. 1, London 2003; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Bibliography

1919

C. Cook, 'The Origin of the Dominican Habit (a Picture in the National Gallery - School of Fra Angelico', The Burlington Magazine, XXXV, 1919, pp. 175-6
1923

R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, 19 vols, The Hague 1923
1951

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
1955

L. Collobi Ragghianti, 'Studi angelichiani', Critica d'arte, 1955
1955

U. Baldini, Mostra delle opere del Beato Angelico nel quinto centenario della morte 1455-1955 (exh. cat. Museo di San Marco, May - September 1955), Florence 1955
1958

M. Salmi, Il Beato Angelico, Spoleto 1958
1961

M. Davies, The Earlier Italian Schools, 2nd edn, London 1961
1963

B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: A List of the Principal Artists and Their Work, with an Index of Places: Florentine School, 2 vols, New York 1963
1970

U. Baldini, L'opera completa dell' Angelico, Milan 1970
1974

J. Pope-Hennessy, Fra Angelico, 2nd edn, London 1974
1986

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
1990

G. Didi-Huberman, Fra Angelico: Dissemblance et figuration, Paris 1990
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2003

Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Fifteenth Century Italian Paintings, 1, London 2003

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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Workshop of Fra Angelico, 'The Vision of the Dominican Habit', about 1430-40

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Bibliography

About this record

Images

Related works