Perugia Altarpiece Perugia Altarpiece The Perugia Altarpiece (Italian: "Pala di Perugia") is a painting by the Italian early Renaissance painter Fra Angelico, housed in the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria of Perugia, Italy. The painting was executed for the St. Nicholas Chapel in the Basilica of San Domenico, Perugia. In the early 19th century, it was split and partially dispersed, and some of the predella panels were acquired by the Pinacoteca Vaticana. In Perugia were executed copies of these panels, enclosed into a neo-Gothic frame. The polyptych also included some small depictions of saints, on the side piers, and two tondoes with the "Annunciation
Pisa Altarpiece panels of the altarpiece, which is the only documented work by Masaccio, are in various museums. Scholars hypothesize the reconstruction of the altarpiece based on a very complete description by Vasari. The painting contains six figures: the Madonna and Child and four angels. The Madonna is the centre figure and is larger than any of the others to signify her importance. Christ sits on her knees, eating grapes offered to him by his mother. Although he is an exceedingly babyish baby (in comparison to the babies of Masaccio's immediate predecessors, like Lorenzo Monaco or Gentile da Fabriano), the grapes are