The director at Ashmolean Museum, Dr Xa Sturgis, said it was a “really exciting moment” for staff to acquire such an “important work” after securing the funds by the 29 October deadline.

He described The Crucifixion With the Virgin, Saint John The Evangelist And The Magdalen as a “very beautiful” and “very moving” painting.

It is believed to be the earliest surviving painting by Fra Angelico.

Dr Sturgis said crucifixion was a subject that the artist “painted again and again throughout his career”.

“With this picture, he sets the way in which he approaches the subject and so it’s an exciting picture because it’s a young artist at the beginning of his career,” he continued.