Cell 5: Adoration of the Child the ox and the donkey are from the apocryphal gospel of Matthew. Similar settings with the baby basically directly on the ground appeared in many other works from the period.
The convent of San Marco has 44 monk’s cells or bedrooms. Almost all are decorated with frescoes by Fra Angelico.
The first 11 cells were for the more senior friars — as the frescoes were not intended as decorations but to encourage contemplation, these were more complicated and more challenging than those suitable for younger friars and novices, who slept larger cells with simpler crucifixion frescoes with St Dominic at prayer.