Christ with the Two Thieves

Christ with the Two Thieves, painted around 1450 and now in the Museum of San Marco, depicts the central moment of the Crucifixion—Christ on the cross flanked by Dismas and Gestas, the good and bad thieves. The subject foregrounded the theological distinction between salvation and damnation embodied in the two thieves' contrasting responses to Christ. Fra Angelico's version is one in a long sequence of Passion scenes painted for the friars of San Marco, each one designed to anchor a particular moment of the Gospel narrative in the monks' devotional imagination.

Three crosses arranged on a hill—Golgotha—organise the composition vertically. Fra Angelico differentiates the three figures through posture and facial expression: Christ serene in death, the good thief turned toward him, the bad thief turned away. The colour of drapery at the foot of the cross and the disposition of the attending figures complete the scene's theological message.