Saint Anthony Abbot
1440-41
Fra Angelico, a Dominican friar who literally painted prayers, brings us this striking figure of Saint Anthony Abbot. Notice the saint's intense gaze and the heavy, dark robes that seem to weigh him down, contrasting beautifully with the shimmering gold leaf background typical of the early Renaissance. He clutches a simple wooden staff, a symbol of his long journeys into the desert to escape temptation. The cracked texture of the wood panel adds a sense of ancient history to this holy figure, who stands firmly on a patch of blue ground as if ready to embark on another spiritual adventure.