Likely to have been placed at the very top of an altarpiece, this panel appropriately depicts Christ rising upwards through bands of clouds. He raises his hand in blessing and holds open a book. The pages are inscribed with Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, symbolising Christ as the beginning and the end.  The colours have darkened considerably over time, with Christ's robes originally green and red while the clouds were blue and grey.

The artist and Dominican friar – later called Fra Angelico – was known for most of his life as Fra Giovanni, the name he chose when he joined the convent of San Domenico in Fiesole, near Florence. After his death, he was praised as the 'angelic painter'.  Fra Angelico was influenced by the work of the early pioneers of the Renaissance, creating space using linear perspective and giving volume to his figures through light and shadow.