Nancy Nicholson - First San Marco Panel

First San Marco Panel, wool weft on a cotton warp stitched to a stretched linen canvas, 95 x

45cm, 2023. Flat woven on countermarched loom.

One of a collection of pieces inspired by Fra Angelico’s frescos in San Marco,

Florence. It struck me, whilst walking through the stillness of the San Marco

corridors, that even if the specifics of the monastery’s religion are removed, what

existed there and what permeated every visitor, was a feeling of solid foundations, of

something fundamental. Whether or not that is expressed through literal depictions of

a Christian narrative or no. I wanted to find that feeling (though stripped of formal

religion) and weave it into my ancient craft creating steady poise and balance in

modern geometric compositions that linked back in history, grounding me. This piece

and others made in similar response, use a colour palate drawn from the pigments

used by Fra Angelico. I wanted to keep the sense of them rooted in the earth and

that particular quality frescos have of being both ground (foundational) and image

(art).