Filippino Lippi (April 1457 – 18 April 1504) was an Italian painter working 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 ...

, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance.

Biography

Filippino Lippi was born in Prato,

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, the illegitimate son of the painter Fra Filippo Lippi and Lucrezia Buti. Filippino first trained under his father. They moved to

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 Sp ...

, where Filippino served as workshop

adjuvant In pharmacology, an adjuvant is a drug or other substance, or a combination of substances, that is used to increase the efficacy or potency of certain drugs. Specifically, the term can refer to: * Adjuvant therapy in cancer management * Analgesi ...

in the construction of the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

. When his father died in 1469, he completed the frescoes with ''Storie della Vergine'' (''Histories of the Virgin'') in the cathedral. Filippino Lippi completed his apprenticeship in the workshop of Botticelli, who had been a pupil of Filippino's father. In 1472 the records of the painters' guild record that Botticelli had only Filippino Lippi as an assistant. His first works greatly resemble those of Botticelli, but with less sensitivity and subtlety. The very first ones (dating from 1475 onwards) were initially attributed to an anonymous "Amico di Sandro" ("Friend of Botticelli"). Eventually Lippi's style evolved into a more personal and effective one over the years 1480–1485. Works of the early period include: the ''Madonnas'' of Berlin, London and Washington, the ''Journeys of Tobia'' of the Galleria Sabauda, Turin, the ''Madonna of the Sea'' of

Galleria dell'Accademia The Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze, or "Gallery of the Academy of Florence", is an art museum in Florence, Italy. It is best known as the home of Michelangelo's sculpture ''David''. It also has other sculptures by Michelangelo and a large ...

, Florence, and the ''Histories of Ester''. Together with

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. ...

, Ghirlandaio and Botticelli, Lippi worked on the frescoed decoration of Lorenzo de' Medici's villa at Spedaletto. On 31 December, 1482, he was commissioned to decorate a wall of the Sala dell'Udienza of Palazzo Vecchio in

, a work never begun. Soon after, probably in 1483–84, he was called to complete Masaccio's decoration of the

Brancacci Chapel The Brancacci Chapel (in Italian, "Cappella dei Brancacci") is a chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, central Italy. It is sometimes called the "Sistine Chapel of the early Renaissance" for its painting cycle, among the ...

in the church of the Carmine, that had been left unfinished at the artist's death in 1428. Here he painted ''Stories of Saint Peter'', in the following frescoes: ''Quarrel with Simon Magus in face of Nero'', ''Resurrection of the Son of Teophilus'', ''Saint Peter Jailed'', ''Liberation'' and ''Crucifixion of Saint Peter''. Lippi's work on the Sala degli Otto di Pratica, in the Palazzo Vecchio, was completed on 20 February, 1486.Rowlands, Eliot W., and Marilyn Bradshaw. "Lippi family." Grove Art Online. 1 January 2003. Oxford University Press. It is now in the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian muse ...

. At about this time, Piero di Francesco del Pugliese asked him to paint the altarpiece with the '' Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard'', which is now in the Badia Fiorentina, Florence. This is Lippi's most popular picture: a composition of unreal items, with its very particular elongated figures, backed by a phantasmagorical scenario of rocks and almost anthropomorphic trunks. The work is dated to 1485–1487. Later, he worked for Tanai de' Nerli in Florence's Santo Spirito church. On 21 April, 1487, Filippo Strozzi asked him to decorate the Strozzi family chapel in

Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The chu ...

with ''Stories of St. John Evangelist and St. Philip''. He worked on this commission intermittently, over a long time. He only completed it in 1503, after Strozzi's death. The windows with musical themes, in the same chapel, also designed by Filippino, were completed between June and July 1503. These paintings can be seen as a mirror of the political and religious crisis in Florence at the time: the theme of the fresco, the clash between

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and Paganism, was hotly debated in the Florence of Girolamo Savonarola. Filippino depicted his characters in a landscape which recreated the ancient world in its finest details, showing the influence of the Grottesco style he had seen on his time in

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 ...

. In this way he created an "animated", mysterious, fantastic but disquieting style, showing the unreality of nightmare. Thus, Filippino portrayed ruthless executioners with the grimmest of faces, who raged against the

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

s. In the scene of ''St. Philip expelling a monster from the temple'', the statue of the pagan god is represented as a living figure which seems to dare the Christian saint. In 1488, Lippi went to

, where Lorenzo de' Medici had advised Cardinal Oliviero Carafa to entrust him with the decoration of the family chapel in Santa Maria sopra Minerva. These frescoes show a new kind of inspiration, quite different from his earlier works, but confirm Lippi's continued research on the themes of the Ancient era. He finished the cycle by 1493. Lippi's return to Florence took place—the date is disputed—at some time between 1491 and 1494. Works of this period include: '' Apparition of Christ to the Virgin'' (c. 1493, now in

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), ''

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, ...

'' (1496, for the church of San Donato in Scopeto, now in the Uffizi), ''Sacrifice of Laocoön'' (end of the century, for the villa of Lorenzo de' Medici at Poggio a Caiano), ''St. John Baptist and Maddalena'' (Valori Chapel in San Procolo, Florence, inspired to some way extent by Luca Signorelli's art). He also worked outside the area of his home city, on the Certosa, or Chapterhouse, in

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the ...

and in Prato, where in 1503 he completed the ''Tabernacle of the Christmas Song'', now in the City Museum; in 1501 Lippi painted the ''Mystic Wedding of St. Catherine'' for the

Basilica of San Domenico The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the major churches in Bologna, Italy. The remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers ( Dominicans), are buried inside the exquisite shrine Arca di San Domenico, made by Nicola Pisano and ...

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. Lippi's final work was the ''

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'' for the Santissima Annunziata church, Florence, which at his death in April 1504 was unfinished. Because of Lippi's fame and reputation, on the day of his burial all the workshops of the city closed for him. Noted art critic

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 ...

wrote of Lippi that "some of his qualities show him to be the most subtle psychologist of his time, the most modern in spirit of all the artists of the Renaissance".

Major works

* ''The Coronation of the Virgin'' (c. 1480)—Tempera on panel, 90.2 × 223 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. * '' Madonna with Child, St Anthony of Padua and a Friar'' (before 1480)—Tempera on wood, 57 × 41.5 cm, Museum of Fine Arts,

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* '' Tobias and the Angel'' (c. 1480)—Tempera on panel, 33 × 23 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. * '' Portrait of an Old Man'' (1485)—Detached fresco, 47 × 38 cm, Uffizi,

* '' Three Angels with Young Tobias ''(1485)—Oil on panel, 100 × 127 cm, Galleria Sabauda,

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

* '' Self-Portrait''—Detached fresco on flat tile, 50 × 31 cm, Uffizi, Florence * '' Portrait of a Youth'' (c. 1485)—Wood, 51 × 35.5 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. * '' Signoria Altarpiece (Pala degli Otto)'' (1486)—Tempera on wood, 355 × 255 cm, Uffizi, Florence * '' Annunciation with St. Thomas and Cardinal Carafa'' (1488–1493)—Fresco, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome * '' Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard'' (1486)—Oil on panel, 210 × 195 cm, Church of Badia, Florence * '' Madonna with Child and Saints'' (c. 1488)—Oil on wood, Santo Spirito, Florence * '' St. Jerome'' (1490s)—Oil on wood, 136 × 71 cm, Uffizi, Florence * '' Apparition of Christ to the Virgin'' (c. 1493)—Oil on panel, 156.1 × 146.7 cm, Alte Pinakothek, Munich * ''Madonna and Child with Saints'' (1498)—affresco, 239 × 141 × 71 cm, Museo Civico, Prato * ''

'' (1496)—Oil on wood, Uffizi, Florence * '' Allegory'' (c. 1498)—Oil on wood, 29 × 22 cm, Uffizi, Florence * '' Allegory of Music (Erato)'' (c. 1500)—Tempera on panel, 61 × 51 cm, Staatliche Museen,

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* ''Crucifixion'', c. 1501— tempera on panel, 31.2 × 23.4 cm, Museo Civico, Prato * '' Mystic Marriage of St Catherine'' (c. 1501–1503)—Panel, Basilica di San Domenico,

* ''Madonna and Child, St. Stefan and St. John the Baptist'' (1502–1503)—tempera on panel, 132 × 118 cm, Museo Civico, Prato * ''

'' (1504, finished by

in 1507)—Oil on panel, 333 × 218 cm, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Florence

School works

Following works are permitted to be cited as Filippino's school works. * ''the Madonna, Child and St. John''— tondo, Keglevich collection,

,Gábor Térey,

The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation si ...

, page 183, L., 1927. * ''Cenacolo di S. Apollonia''—

''G. Bernardini'', Bollettino d'Arte del Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione (

Ministry of Public Education (Italy) The Ministry of Education and Merit ( it, Ministero dell'Istruzione e del Merito, or MEM) is the government body of Italy devoted to the administration of the national education system. It was active in three separate periods (1861–1929; 1944 ...

), year 1912, page 291. * ''the Virgin giving her girdle to St. Thomas''—

* ''St. Anthony Abbot''—

Gallery

File:Filippino, morte di lucrezia.JPG, ''Death of Lucretia'' (1478-1480) File:Filippino Lippi - The Coronation of the Virgin (detail) - WGA13070.jpg , The '' Coronation of the Virgin'' (detail) (c. 1480)
Tempera on panel, 90.2 × 223 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. File:Filippino, annunciazione e santi, capodimonte.jpg , '' Annunciation with St John the Baptist and St Andrew'', c. 1485 File:Filippino lippi, apparizione, 05.jpg , '' Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard'' (detail) (1486)
Oil on panel, 210 × 195 cm, Church of Badia, Florence File:Filippino lippi, apparizione, 01.jpg , ''Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard'' (detail) File:Filippino lippi, apparizione, 03.jpg , ''Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard'' (detail) File:Filippino lippi, Apparizione di Cristo alla Madonna 02.JPG , '' Apparition of Christ to the Virgin'' (c. 1493)
—Oil on panel, 156.1 × 146.7 cm, Alte Pinakothek, Munich File:Filippino Lippi - anjos sala degli Otto 2-1.jpg File:Filippino Lippi Santo Spirito.jpg , '' Madonna with Child and Saints'' (c. 1488)
Oil on wood, Santo Spirito, Florence

Notes

References

* ''The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting'', Volume 12, p. 371ff., Raimond van Marle, Hacker Art Books, New York 1970.

External links

Exhibition ''Da Donatello a Lippi. Officina Pratese''
at Museo Civico di Palazzo Pretorio in Prato (September 2013 – January 2014)
Works of Filippino Lippi
at the

* *
Filippino Lippi at the National Gallery of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lippi, Filippino 15th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 16th-century Italian painters Italian Renaissance painters Painters from Tuscany People from Prato 1450s births 1504 deaths Catholic painters