Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an

Italian Renaissance painter Italian Renaissance painting is the painting of the period beginning in the late 13th century and flourishing from the early 15th to late 16th centuries, occurring in the Italian Peninsula, which was at that time divided into many political sta ...

of the

Quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

(fifteenth century) and a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

priest. He was an

early Renaissance Renaissance art (1350 – 1620) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occurr ...

master of a painting workshop, who taught many painters.

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...

and Francesco di Pesello (called Pesellino) were among his most distinguished pupils. His son,

Filippino Lippi Filippino Lippi (probably 1457 – 18 April 1504) was an Italian Renaissance painter mostly working in Florence, Italy during the later years of the Early Renaissance and first few years of the High Renaissance. He also worked in Rome for a ...

, also studied under him and assisted in some late works.

Biography

Lippi was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

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

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

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, known commonly as the

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

, at the

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

of Santa Maria del Carmine 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 Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

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

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in approximately 1425 and remained in residence at the 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 Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

, the first

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

of the Renaissance, writes in his ''

Lives of the Artists ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' () is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect Giorgio Vasari, which is considered "perhaps the most famous, and even today the ...

'' that "while he was in his noviciate and under the discipline of the grammar master, did nothing but cover his books with drawings of figures, until at last the

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

determined to give him every help in learning to paint. The rancaccichapel in the hurch of Santa Maria delCarmine had been recently painted by

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 List of Italian painters, Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaiss ...

, and being most beautiful, pleased Fra Filippo greatly, and he used to go there." Later "he painted a pope confirming the rule of the Carmelites and other pictures so much in Masaccio's style that ''many said that the spirit of Masaccio had entered into Fra Filippo.'' Lippi's early work indeed, notably the '' Tarquinia Madonna'' (

Palazzo Barberini The Palazzo Barberini () is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the Piazza Barberini in Rione Trevi. Today, it houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome. History Around 1549 Cardinal ...

, Rome) shows the influence of Masaccio."Fra Filippo Lippi"
on the website of the

National Gallery 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 more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, London.

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 of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, where he was captured by

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

and kept as a slave. Reportedly, his skill in portrait-sketching helped to eventually release him. Louis Gillet, writing for the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', considers this account and other details reported about Lippi, as "assuredly nothing but a romance". With Lippi's return to Florence in 1432, his paintings had become popular, warranting the support of the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

family, who commissioned the ''

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

'' 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 House of Medici, Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derive ...

had to imprison him 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 the altarpiece of the '' Coronation of the Virgin'' for the nuns of Sant'Ambrogio. The painting shows the Virgin being crowned 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 Lippi, pointed out by the inscription ''is perfecit opus'' upon an angel's scroll. Later, it was believed instead to be a portrait of the benefactor who commissioned the painting. The painting was celebrated in

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

's poem " Fra Lippo Lippi" (1855). In 1452, Lippi was appointed

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

to the nuns at the Monastery of Santa Maria Maddalena in

Fra Filippo Lippi - Madonna with the Child and two Angels - WGA13307

Fra Filippo is recorded as living in

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

(near Florence) in June 1456 to paint frescoes in the choir of the cathedral. In 1458, while engaged in this work, he set about creating a painting for the monastery chapel of Santa Margherita in that city, where he met Lucrezia Buti, a beautiful boarder or

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 with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

of the Order and the daughter of the Florentines Caterina Ciacchi and Francesco Buti. Lippi asked that she might be permitted to sit for the figure of the Madonna (or perhaps Saint Margaret). Lippi engaged in sexual relations with her and abducted her to his own house. She remained there despite efforts by the nuns to reclaim her. This relationship resulted in their son Filippino Lippi in 1457, who became a famous painter following his father, as well as a daughter, Alessandra, in 1465. Lucrezia is thought to be the model for many of Filippo Lippi's paintings of the Madonna, as well as for

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

in one of his monumental works. In 1457, he was appointed commendatory Rector (''Rettore commendatario'') of in Legnaia, 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 , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

, where he had been commissioned to paint scenes from the '' Life of the Virgin'' for the apse of the cathedral. His son, 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 * Anal ...

in the construction. In the semidome of the apse is the '' Coronation of the Virgin, with angels, sibyls, and prophets''. This series, which is not wholly equal to the one at Prato, was completed after Lippi's death by assistants under his fellow Carmelite, Fra Diamante. 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 to marry Lucrezia, but before the permission arrived Lippi had been poisoned by indignant relatives of Lucrezia or, in another version, by relatives of someone who had replaced her in the painter's affections.

Works

The frescoes in the choir of the cathedral of Prato, which depict the stories of Saint Stephen and Saint John the Baptist 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

, 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. The figure of the dancing Salome in the scene of the Feast of Herod is believed to be a portrait of Lucrezia. On the end wall of the choir are Saint John Gualbert and Saint Alberto, while the vault has monumental representations of the four evangelists. For Germiniano Inghirami of Prato he painted the ''Death of Saint Bernard''. His principal altarpiece in this city is a Nativity in the refectory of San Domenico: the Christ child 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. A ''Vision of Saint Bernard'' is held in the

, London. In the Uffizi is a fine painting of the Virgin, also called "Lippina", adoring the infant Christ, who is held by two angels. The model for the Virgin is Lucrezia. A sometime lecturer at the gallery, the art historian Rocky Ruggiero identifies the painting as "one of the most beautiful paintings of the Italian Renaissance" and asserts that arguably, Lippi "is the first Italian painter with a true sensibility for feminine beauty". The painting of the ''Virgin and Child with an Angel'' also in the Uffizi is ascribed to Lippi, but that is disputed. Filippo Lippi died in 1469 while working on the frescoes of scenes from the ''Life of the Virgin'' (1467–1469) in the apse of

Spoleto Cathedral Spoleto Cathedral (; ''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 Spoleto, in Italy. It is dedicated to the A ...

. The frescoes show the Annunciation, the Funeral of the Virgin, the Adoration of the Christ Child, and the Coronation of the Virgin. A group of bystanders depicted at the funeral includes a self-portrait of Lippi and his helpers, Fra Diamante and

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

, together with his son Filippino. Lippi was buried on the right side of the transept, with a monument commissioned by

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

."Filippo Lippi", Virtual Uffizi Gallery
/ref> Francesco di Pesello (called Pesellino) and

were among his most distinguished pupils who participated in his workshop.

Selected works

*'' Enthroned Madonna and Child (Madonna of Tarquinia)'' (1437) –Tempera on panel, 151 × 66 cm, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

*''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

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

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

*'' Madonna and Child with Saints'' (1438) – Panel, 208 × 244 cm,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

*'' Penitent Saint Jerome with a Young Monk'' (c. 1439) – Tempera on panel, 54 × 37 cm, Lindenau Museum,

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 × 144 cm, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome *'' Martelli Annunciation'' (c. 1440) – Tempera on panel, 175 × 183 cm, San Lorenzo, Florence *'' Novitiate Altarpiece'' (c. 1440–1445) – Tempera on panel, 196 × 196 cm, Uffizi, Florence *'' Coronation of the Virgin'' Sant'Ambrogio (1441–1447) – Tempera on panel, 200 × 287 cm,

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

*''

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

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

*'' Marsuppini Coronation'' (after 1444) – Tempera on panel, 172 × 251 cm, Pinacoteca Vaticana,

*''

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

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

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 more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

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

Palazzo Pitti 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 River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

*'' Funeral of Saint Jerome'' (c. 1452–1460) – Tempera on panel, 268 × 165 cm, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Prato Cathedral *'' Stories of Saint Stephen and Saint John the Baptist'' (1452–1465) – Fresco cycle, Cathedral of

*'' Madonna del Ceppo'' (c. 1452–1453) – Panel, 187 × 120 cm, Civic Museum, Prato *''

Madonna and Child In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...

'' (c. 1455) – Panel, Uffizi, Florence *'' Adoration in the Forest'' (late 1450s) – Panel, 127 × 116 cm, Staatliche Museen,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

*'' Madonna of Palazzo Medici-Riccardi'' (1466–1469) – Tempera on panel, 115 × 71 cm, Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence *'' Life of the Virgin'' (1467–1469) – Fresco, apse of

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

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

*'' 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'' (c. 1445),

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an 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 charge, the museum was privately established in ...

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 or Visitation of the Wise Men 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 fo ...

'', tondo credited to Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi (c. 1440–1460) File:Filippo Lippi - Incoronazione della Vergine - Google Art Project.jpg, '' Coronation of the Virgin'' (1441–1447) File:Lippo lippi woman.jpg, ''Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement'' (c. 1440),

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

File:Madonna col bambino, palazzo medici riccardi, filippo lippi.jpg, '' Madonna of Palazzo Medici-Riccardi'' (1466) File:Filippo Lippi, ritratto femminile.jpg, ''Portrait of a Woman'' (1445), Gemäldegalerie File:Fra Filippo Lippi - Madonna with the Child and Scenes from the Life of St Anne (detail) - WGA13239.jpg, ''Madonna with Child'' with scenes of life of Saint Anne (1452), detail 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,
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 from the Republic of Florence 15th-century Italian painters 15th-century slaves Escapees from monasteries