Fragment of angels
Cimabue·1277
Historical Context
This fragment of angels by Cimabue from the upper church at Assisi preserves a portion of the master's extensive fresco decoration of the transept, painted around 1277. The angelic figures likely formed part of a larger heavenly vision in the apocalyptic cycle or a Marian scene, reflecting the elaborate theological programs that governed medieval church decoration. Despite its fragmentary state, the work demonstrates why Cimabue was celebrated by Dante in the Purgatorio as the supreme painter before Giotto eclipsed him.
Technical Analysis
Executed in buon fresco on the church wall, the surviving fragment shows Cimabue's masterful rendering of angelic faces with soft tonal transitions and expressive features that break decisively from flat Byzantine models. The delicate treatment of the feathered wings and the rhythmic arrangement of the figures reveal a sophisticated decorative sensibility.
