Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 19, 2001

Volume 30, Number 7

Fra Angelico's restored altarpiece.

Curator 'sleuths' have reunited altarpiece panels

An Italian Renaissance altarpiece lthat has been reassembled thanks to years of sleuthing and scientific analysis by curators and conservators is now the centerpiece of a small exhibit on the second floor of the Yale University Art Gallery.

Titled "Rediscovering Fra Angelico: A Fragmentary History," the exhibit and accompanying catalogue recount the history of the altarpiece. The work was created by Fra Angelico (circa 1395-1455), a Dominican friar whose most famous works are in the convent of San Marco, Florence.

The altarpiece consists of four panels, the wings of a tabernacle triptych that would have folded over a central image, which is still unknown. Like many similar works of its era, the altarpiece was dismantled and sold during the mid- to late-18th century.

Two of the panels -- one depicting the Angel Gabriel announcing the birth of Christ and the other the Virgin Mary -- have been in Yale's collections since 1959, when the museum received them as a gift from Hannah D. and Louis M. Rabinowitz. The other two sections -- one showing Saint Francis and a Bishop Saint and the other Saint John the Baptist and Saint Dominic-- were in the collection of The J. Paul Getty Museum.

It was in the early 1990s that Laurence B. Kanter, curator-in-charge of the Robert Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, first made the association between Yale's panels and the Getty's. After an intense visual scrutiny, the conservation departments at the two institutions joined forces for an extended collaboration focusing on Yale's collection of early Italian art. Kanter's hypothesis that the fragments belonged to the same altarpiece was borne out by scientific analysis, including x-radiographs that showed that the wood grain in the panels matched and even flaws in the wood continued through the pinnacles and the lower panels. Further, this examination confirmed irrefutably that all four panels were painted by Fra Angelico.

In addition to the reunited panels, the Yale Art Gallery exhibit includes an installation describing the materials and techniques of early Italian artists. The case contains the gesso ground layer, the tools for gilding, pigments and other materials, along with photographs demonstrating their use.

Anne O'Connor, the Institute of Museum and Library Services Fellow in the department of conservation, who organized the installation and wrote the accompanying brochure, has made an unfinished copy of Giovanni di Paolo's "Madonna and Child with Saints Bartholomew and Jerome" showing the layered structure of an egg tempera painting of this period

A number of special activities are planned in conjunction with the exhibit. Watch the Calendar section of this newspaper for listings.

The Yale University Art Gallery, located at Chapel and York Streets, exhibits a permanent collection from every period in the history of art, with special changing exhibitions throughout the year. Admission is free for individuals; groups should call (203) 432-8459 for information about fees and to make a reservation.

Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.8 p.m., Sunday 1-6 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays. An entrance for persons using wheelchairs is at 201 York St. with an unmetered parking space nearby on York Street. For information, call (203) 432-0606. For recorded general and program information, call (203) 432-0600 or visit the museum's website at www.yale.edu/artgallery.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Davies Mansion to be renovated, renamed

Yale-developed 'icon' molecule can target tumors for destruction

Curator 'sleuths' have reunited altarpiece panels

Ando describes dream of mixing nature in architecture

News reporters take on the role of teachers during campus visits . . .

'Post-Attack America' is topic of Poynter Lecture

Experts to discuss the hostile use of biotechnology

Yale Rep to present 'primer' by Tennessee Williams

Fair will feature special treasures of Yale libraries

Restoring garden to its 'glorious days' is ongoing effort

Artists will show off their work, studios in city-wide festival

Series explores implications of terrorist attacks

Curators to discuss museum's changing focus on Latin America

New Music New Haven to highlight works by Yale composer

Memorial Service

Campus Notes