The Church Militant and Triumphant, 1365-1367 (fresco)

The Church Militant and Triumphant (La Chiesa militante e trionfante), by Andrea di Bonaiuto, 1365-1367, 14th Century, fresco Detail. In the foreground on the left four characters are seated in a row, two women and two men, in different attitudes: the first figure plays a violin, the second holds a little hawk on his left arm, the third pets a monkey while the last one puts his hand to the chin; in the centre of the painting, a Dominican friar on a chair blesses a man, kneeled down and wrapped up in a long green cloak; on the left Saint Dominic's figure stands out, standing, depicted in the act of indicating the way to Heaven to a group of friars; in the background it is possible to see several children on the trees, intent in picking fruits, eating them or passing them to their mates; the context consists in gentle hills dotted by castles and other buildings Andrea di Bonaiuto Church of Santa Maria Novella