Looking Up

This is another detail from the Fra Angelico scenes from the life of Christ series that I posted about on Sunday. Here we have the ascension.

While Fra Angelico is often noted for his big altarpieces and frescoes, he in fact was a brilliant miniaturist. Little characters doing interesting things adorn the edges of many of his paintings, their postures and expressions very interestingly drawn.

Here we see Mary, appropriately demure, hands folded in prayer, eyes just slightly turned heavenward. But the disciples on her left is boldly looking up, not at the reflection of my iPhone but at Jesus rising into the clouds, hands shading his eyes. I guess he is thinking, "Well, wow! there he goes!" Another disciple on the edge of the group seems to be remarking to another something along the lines of "So, I'm not sure; what do you think of this?" And the two disciples with their backs to us appear to have haloes in front of their faces. 

I hope things are looking up for you today, too.