lestick
serves as a support to the Old and New Testaments.[54]

We may enumerate among the best scenes the "Flight into Egypt," the
"Slaughter of the Innocents," the "Betrayal of Judas," the "Dead
Christ," and the "Resurrection of Lazarus," all composed in Giottesque
style: but, when we think of the progress of Fra Angelico in art as
shown in the frescoes in San Marco, and his best panel paintings, we
cannot avoid noticing a certain want of vigour in these presses.

[Illustration: THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS.]

[Illustration: ENTOMBMENT OF CHRIST.]

Having become accustomed to the grander methods of fresco painting, in
which his talent and ability found greater scope for expression,--even
though not attaining to the ease and force of some of his
contemporaries and followers,--Fra Angelico must have now found
himself at the disadvantage, natural to one who, after moving free in
wider space, is suddenly cramped into narrower confines. This explains
why we find in some of these small panels, greater conventionality in
the representation of scenes and action, and less ease and correctness
of execution. We might add also, that many of them, where these
defects are especially evident, may be ascribed to other hands, less
clever than his own, those of his assistants who were called in to
expedite the work and assist the artist.

[Illustration: CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN.]

Rio believes that two of Angelico's paintings, one of which was once
in the Dominican monastery of San Vincenzo d' Annalena, and the other
in that of the Frati dell'Osservanza in Mugello, but now both at the
Belle Arti, were executed later than the frescoes in the Vatican, to
which they offer an extraordinary resemblance, not perceivable in the
artist's earlier works.[55]

[Illustration: THE SYMBOLIC WHEEL.]

We cannot, however, accept the assertion of the French critic. These
two pictures, though utterly different in character and type, too
forcibly recall his previous works. And as according to the same
author the altar-piece of the monks [55] of the Mugello resembles the
other in colouring, technique, the freer style of drapery, the type of
the Virgin and character of the figures, we might reasonably conclude
that both paintings belong to the period of his residence at Fiesole
or Florence, i. e. previous to his departure for Rome in 1445.

[Illustration: THE MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS.
(Annalena Convent.)]

[Illustration: THE MADONNA AND