Annunciation by Beato Angelico, Cortona - Credit: Sailko
Cortona is a city that preserves impressive traces of the Etruscan period, such as the remains of the city walls dating back to the 5th century BC, while churches such as San Francesco and San Domenico, or palaces such as the Town Hall and Palazzo Casali, are still visible from the medieval period.
In town the presence of the Florentine artist is revealed in the Diocesan Museum.
In the large hall, once the Baptistery of the former church of Gesù, there are two works by Beato Angelico - the Annunciation and a Madonna with Child and four saints - both originally painted for the church of San Domenico. The two panels, together with a fresco that the artist made for the lunette of the entrance door of the church, were painted between 1434-38, a few years after the panel of San Giovanni, during his stay in the Dominican convent of Cortona (Beato Angelico remained there until 1438).
If for the San Giovanni's Annunciation the artist seems to be linked more to Masolino, the Cortona one reveals the teaching of Masaccio.
