From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Museo Nazionale di San Marco
is a
church
and
Dominican
convent
. in
Florence
,
Italy
. The church also has the Museum of St. Mark (Museo di S. Marco) which shows
paintings
by
Fra Angelico
.
The Domincan Convent was begun in the early 1400s. The first "prior" (head man) was St. Antoninus of Florence. The famous painter known as
Fra Angelico
was one of the first of the Dominican Friars to live and work there. He later became the prior. The land for the convent was given to the friars by Cosimo
Medici
. The monks lived in small rooms called "cells". Cosimo had a cell built for himself, where he could stay sometimes. Between 1447 and 1452 Cosimo got his favourite
architect
,
Michelozzo
, to build a large new library and improve other parts of the building. In the late 1700s, the facade (front) of the building was rebuilt in a Classical style.
In 1490, the prior of St. Marks was a famous Domincan called
Savonarola
. He lived in the cell that had once belonged to Cosimo Medici. He was a great preacher. He disliked Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo Medici, who was often called "Lorenzo the Magnificent" (Lorenzo il Magnifico). He thought that Lorenzo had too much power and was acting like a prince. He preached against Lorenzo, against the Pope and against the
Roman Catholic Church
. He told everyone that the end of the world was near. Many people became frightened or depressed by the things that he said.
Pope Alexander VI
had Savonarola arrested. He was tortured and put to death in 1498. 60 years later, the Church agreed that, in fact, he had said nothing wrong.
The Library of St. Mark's contains many
illuminated manuscripts
. Some were probably decorated by Fra Angelico's brother Benedetto. Some may even have been painted by Fra Angelico.
The Museum has a collection of paintings by Fra Angelico. On of the most famous is
The Descent from the Cross
, which shows the body of
Jesus
being taken down from the cross where he was crucified. The convent also contains many paintings by
Fra Angelico
. They are
frescos
, and decorated many walls, including a painting in each friar's cell.
Another famous fresco is
The
Last Supper
painted in the refectory (
dining room
) by
Domenico Ghirlandaio
.
- Anne Mueller von der Haegen and Ruth Strasser,
Art and Architecture of Tuscany
, Konemann (2001),
ISBN
3829026528