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 Whole artwork view. Overall view of the fresco that depicts the triumph of the Church thanks to Dominican friars' preaching; in the lower part, on the left, clergymen and exponents of all social classes gather round the pope and the emperor, who are seated on a pedestal in front of Santa Maria in Fiore church; on the right three saints, Dominic, Peter martyr and Thomas Aquinas, discuss with some heretics while at their feet a pack of piebald dogs chases and tears some wolves into pieces; in the part above, a row of young women dances to the rhythm of a tambourine while some children climb trees to pick up their fruits; in the centre of the fresco Saint Dominic indicates a group of friars the way to heaven's door, beyond which the crowd of the blessed adores the Saviour; the fresco culminates in the apparition of Christ on a throne, with angelic hosts at His sides Andrea di Bonaiuto Church of Santa Maria Novella