Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

Priest.

Biography

Lippi was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orphaned when he was two years old and sent to live with his aunt Mona Lapaccia. Because she was too poor to rear him, she placed him in the neighboring

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

convent when he was eight years old. There, he started his education. In 1420 he was admitted to the community of Carmelite

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

s of the

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Florence, taking

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

in the Order the following year, at the age of sixteen. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in approximately 1425 and remained in residence of that priory until 1432.Gillet, Louis. "Filippo Lippi". ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Retrieved 4 April 2015
/ref> Giorgio Vasari, the first art historian of the Renaissance, writes that Lippi was inspired to become a painter by watching

Masaccio Masaccio (, , ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasari, ...

at work in the Carmine church. Lippi's early work, notably the Tarquinia Madonna (Galleria Nazionale, Rome) shows that influence from Masaccio."Fra Filippo Lippi", The National Gallery, London
/ref> In his '' Lives of the Artists'', Vasari says about Lippi: "Instead of studying, he spent all his time scrawling pictures on his own books and those of others.""Filippo Lippi", Virtual Uffizi Gallery
/ref> Due to Lippi's interest, the

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

decided to give him the opportunity to learn painting. Workshop of Filippo Lippi - Madonna and Child - Walters 37429

Fra Filippo Lippi - The Adoration in the Forest - Google Art Project

In 1432 Filippo Lippi quit the monastery, although he was not released from his vows. In a letter dated 1439 he describes himself as the poorest friar of Florence, charged with the maintenance of six marriageable nieces. According to Vasari, Lippi then went on to visit

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, where he was captured by

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

and kept as a slave. His skill in portrait-sketching helped to eventually release him. Louis Gillet, writing for the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', considers this account "assuredly nothing but a romance". With Lippi's return to Florence in 1432, his paintings had become popular, warranting the support of the Medici family, who commissioned ''The Annunciation'' and the ''Seven Saints''.

Cosimo de' Medici Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth ...

had to lock him up in order to compel him to work, and even then the painter escaped by a rope made of his sheets. His escapades threw him into financial difficulties from which he did not hesitate to extricate himself by forgery. His life included many similar tales of lawsuits, complaints, broken promises, and scandal. In 1441 Lippi painted an altarpiece for the nuns of S. Ambrogio which is now a prominent attraction in the Academy of Florence, and was celebrated in Browning's well-known poem ''

Fra Lippo Lippi Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest. Biography Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orph ...

''. It represents the coronation of the Virgin among angels and saints, including many Bernardine monks. One of these, placed to the right, is a half-length figure originally thought to be a self-portrait of Lippo, pointed out by the inscription ''is perfecit opus'' upon an angel's scroll; it was later believed instead to be a portrait of the benefactor who commissioned the painting. In 1452 Lippi was appointed

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the nuns at the Monastery of

St. Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

In June 1456 Fra Filippo is recorded as living in

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...

(near Florence) to paint frescoes in the choir of the cathedral. In 1458, while engaged in this work, he set about painting a picture for the monastery chapel of S. Margherita in that city, where he met

Lucrezia Buti Lucrezia Buti (Florence, 1435; died in the sixteenth century) was an Italian nun, and later the lover of the painter Fra Filippo Lippi. She is believed to be the model for several of Lippi's Madonnas. Life Lucrezia was born in Florence in 1435 ...

, a beautiful

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

of the Order and the daughter of a Florentine named Francesco Buti. Lippi asked that she might be permitted to sit for the figure of the Madonna (or perhaps S. Margherita). Lippi engaged in sexual relations with her, abducted her to his own house, and kept her there despite the nuns' efforts to reclaim her. This relationship resulted in their son,

Filippino Lippi Filippino Lippi (April 1457 – 18 April 1504) was an Italian painter working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance. Biography Filippino Lippi was born in Prato, Tusc ...

, who became a famous painter following his father. In 1457 he was appointed

commendatory In canon law, commendam (or ''in commendam'') was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice ''in trust'' to the ''custody'' of a patron. The phrase ''in commendam'' was originally applied to the provisional occupation of an ecclesiastical ...

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

(''Rettore commendatario'') of S. Quirico in Legania, from which institutions he occasionally made considerable profits. Despite these profits, Lippi struggled to escape poverty throughout his life. The close of Lippi's life was spent at

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

, where he had been commissioned to paint scenes from the

life of the Virgin The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the nu ...

for the apse of the cathedral. In the semidome of the apse is the '' Christ Crowning the Madonna, with angels, sibyls, and prophets''. This series, which is not wholly equal to the one at Prato, was completed by one of his assistants, his fellow Carmelite,

Fra Diamante Fra Diamante (c. 1430 – c. 1498) was an Italian Renaissance painter. Biography Born at Prato, he was a Carmelite friar, a member of the Florentine community of that order, and was the friend and assistant of Filippo Lippi. The Carmelit ...

, after Lippi's death. Lippi died in Spoleto, on or about 8 October 1469. The mode of his death is a matter of dispute. It has been said that the pope granted Lippi a dispensation for marrying Lucrezia, but before the permission arrived, Lippi had been poisoned by the indignant relatives of either Lucrezia herself or some lady who had replaced her in the inconstant painter's affections.

Works

The frescoes in the choir of the cathedral of Prato, which depict the stories of St. John the Baptist and St. Stephen on the two main facing walls, are considered Fra Filippo's most important and monumental works, particularly the figure of Salome dancing, which has clear affinities with later works by Sandro Botticelli, his pupil, and

, his son, as well as the scene showing the ceremonial mourning over Stephen's corpse. This latter is believed to contain a portrait of the painter, but there are various opinions as to which is the exact figure. On the end wall of the choir are S. Giovanni Gualberto and S. Alberto, while the vault has monumental representations of the four evangelists. For Germiniano Inghirami of Prato he painted the Death of St. Bernard. His principal altarpiece in this city is a Nativity in the refectory of S. Domenico – the Infant on the ground adored by the Virgin and Joseph, between Saints George and Dominic, in a rocky landscape, with the shepherds playing and six angels in the sky. In the Uffizi is a fine Virgin, also called "Lippina", adoring the infant Christ, who is held by two angels; in the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, a ''Vision of St Bernard''. The picture of the ''Virgin and Infant with an Angel'', in this same gallery, also ascribed to Lippi, is disputable. Filippo Lippi died in 1469 while working on the frescoes of ''Scenes of the Life of the Virgin Mary'', 1467–1469 in the apse of the

Spoleto Cathedral Spoleto Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta; ''Duomo di Spoleto'') is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia created in 1821, previously that of the diocese of Spoleto, and the principal church of the Umbrian city of Spo ...

. The Frescos show the Annunciation, the Funeral, the Adoration of the Child and the Coronation of the Virgin. A group of bystanders depicted at the funeral includes a self-portrait of Lippi, together with his son Filippino and his helpers,

and

Pier Matteo d'Amelia Piermatteo de' Manfredi da Amelia (circa 1445 - died 1503/1508) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period. Biography Piermatteo was born in Amelia, in Umbria. He is first recorded as being part of the circle of Filippo Lippi, active bet ...

. Lippi was buried on the right side of the transept, with a monument commissioned by Lorenzo de' Medici. Francesco di Pesello (called Pesellino) and Sandro Botticelli were among his most distinguished pupils.

Selected works

*'' Enthroned Madonna and Child (Madonna of Tarquinia)'' (1437) -Tempera on panel, 151 x 66 cm,

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica or National Gallery of Ancient Art is an art museum in Rome, Italy. It is the principal national collection of older paintings in Rome – mostly from before 1800; it does not hold any antiquities. It has two ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

*''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

'' (1437–1439) -Tempera on panel, 86 x 107 cm, Museo Poldi Pezzoli,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

*'' Madonna and Child with Saints'' (1438) - Panel, 208 x 244 cm,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

*'' St. Jerome in Penance'' (c. 1439) - Tempera on panel, 54 x 37 cm,

Lindenau Museum The Lindenau-Museum is an art museum in Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany. It originated as the house-museum of baron and collector Bernhard August von Lindenau. The building was completed in 1876. The museum's main attraction is its collection of ...

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

*'' The Annunciation with two Kneeling Donors'' (c. 1440) - Oil on panel, 155 x 144 cm, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome *'' Martelli Annunciation'' (c. 1440) - Tempera on panel, 175 x 183 cm, San Lorenzo, Florence *''

Novitiate Altarpiece The ''Novitiate Altarpiece'' or ''Madonna and Child with Saints'' is a c.1440-1445 tempera on panel painting by Filippo Lippi, now in the Uffizi in Florence. A sacra conversazione, it originally had a predella painted by Pesellino centred on a '' ...

'' (c.1440-1445) - Tempera on panel, 196 x 196 cm, Uffizi, Florence *''

Coronation of the Virgin The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God th ...

'' (1441–1447) - Tempera on panel, 200 x 287 cm, Uffizi,

*''

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

'' (c. 1443–1450) - Wood, 203 x 185.3 cm, Alte Pinakothek,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

*''

Marsuppini Coronation The ''Marsuppini Coronation'' is a painting of the Coronation of the Virgin by the Italian Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi, dating to after 1444. It is in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome. History The panel was commissioned by the chancellor of th ...

'' (after 1444) - Tempera on panel, 172 x 251 cm,

Pinacoteca Vaticana The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

*''

'' (1445–50) - Oil on panel, 117 x 173 cm, Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome *''

'' (c. 1449–1459) - Tempera on panel, 68 x 151.5 cm,

*''

Seven Saints 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...

'' (c. 1449–1459) - Tempera on panel, 68 x 151.5 cm, National Gallery, London *'' Madonna and Child'' (c. 1452) - Panel, diameter 135 cm,

Pitti Gallery The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the Arno River, River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of ...

*'' Funeral of St. Jerome'' (c. 1452–1460) - Tempera on panel, 268 x 165 cm, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo,

Prato Cathedral Prato Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Stephen, ( it, Duomo di Prato; Cattedrale di San Stefano) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prato, Tuscany, Central Italy, from 1954 the seat of the Bishop of Prato, having been previously, from 1653, a cathe ...

*''

Stories of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist The ''Stories of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist'' is a fresco cycle by the Italian Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi and his assistants, executed between 1452 and 1465. It is located in the Great Chapel (''Cappella Maggiore'') of the Cat ...

'' (1452–1465) - Fresco cycle, Cathedral of

*''

Madonna del Ceppo The ''Madonna del Ceppo'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi, commissioned to him between 1452 and 1453. It is housed in the Civic Museum of Prato, Italy (though exposed in the local Museum of Wall Painting, in the Pa ...

'' (c. 1452–1453) - Panel, 187 x 120 cm, Civic Museum, Prato *'' Madonna and Child'' (c. 1455) - Panel, Uffizi, Florence *'' Adoration in the Forest'' (late 1450s) - Panel, 127 x 116 cm,

Staatliche Museen The Berlin State Museums (german: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) are a group of institutions in Berlin, Germany, comprising seventeen museums in five clusters, several research institutes, libraries, and supporting facilities. They are overseen ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

*'' Madonna of Palazzo Medici-Riccardi'' (1466–1469) - Tempera on panel, 115 x 71 cm,

Palazzo Medici-Riccardi The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy. It is the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence and a museum. Overview T ...

, Florence *''

Scenes from the Life of the Virgin Mary ''Scenes from the Life of the Virgin Mary'' (Italian - ''Le Storie della Vergine'') is a cycle of frescos by Filippo Lippi in Spoleto Cathedral. History The cycle was commissioned in 1466, when Lippi had completed his ''Stories of St. Stephen and ...

'' (1467–1469) - Fresco, apse of the

*''Madonna and Child'' (between circa 1446 and circa 1447),

The Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

. *'' Triptych of the Madonna of Humility with saints''

Gallery

File:Fra Filippo Lippi and Workshop, The Nativity, probably c. 1445, NGA 422.jpg, ''The Nativity'', probably c. 1445,

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

File:Fra Angelico, Fra Filippo Lippi, The Adoration of the Magi.jpg, The ''

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, ...

'' is a tondo of the

. It is credited to Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi and dates to c. 1440/1460. File:Filippo Lippi - Incoronazione della Vergine - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Incoronazione della Vergine'' (1441–47) File:Fra Filippo Lippi - Madonna with the Child and two Angels - WGA13307.jpg, ''Madonna with the Child and two Angels'' (1465), tempera on wood, Uffizi. File:Madonna col bambino, palazzo medici riccardi, filippo lippi.jpg, '' Madonna of Palazzo Medici-Riccardi'' File:Filippo Lippi, ritratto femminile.jpg, ''Portrait of a woman'' File:Fra Filippo Lippi - Coronation of the Virgin (detail) - WGA13317.jpg, ''Coronation of the Virgin'' (detail) File:Fra Filippo Lippi - Madonna with the Child and Scenes from the Life of St Anne (detail) - WGA13239.jpg, ''Madonna with Child'' File:Pseudo-Pier Francesco Fiorentino, madonna del roseto.jpg, ''Madonna and Child'' Follower of Fra Filippo Lippi and Francesco Pesellino

References

* * * *

External links

www.FraFilippoLippi.org
75 works by Filippo Lippi *

Paul George Konody Paul George Konody (30 July 1872 – 30 November 1933) was a Hungarian-born, London-based art critic and historian, who wrote for several London newspapers, as well as writing numerous books and articles on noted artists and collections, with a ...

,
Filippo Lippi
', London: T.C. & E.C. Jack; New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1911.
''Italian Paintings: Florentine School''
a collection catalog containing information about Lippi and his works (see pages: 92–94).

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lippi, Filippo Italian Renaissance painters Painters from Florence Quattrocento painters 1406 births 1469 deaths Italian male painters Carmelites 15th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Catholic painters Burials at Spoleto Cathedral 15th-century people of the Republic of Florence 15th-century Italian painters