Fra Filipo Lippi
The Renaissance Artist
Biography
- Born c. 1406 in Florence, Italy
- Born into a large and poor family, when both of his parents died
- Orphaned , taken in by his aunt for a few years who then put him into a convent at Santa Maria del Carmine (grew up around churches and painting)
- Influenced greatly by Fra Angelico and frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel painted by Masaccio
- He later came to paint some frescoes and in the church cloister
- Was a painter, some of his most famous are The Virgin and Child between SS, Annunciation and Coronation of the Virgin
- Protected and patroned by the DeMedicis who commissioned him to do church and convent paintings
The "Isms" of Filipo Lippi
Humanism:
Lippi brought divine figures closer to regular humans and he knew how to express human emotions in art
Scientific Naturalism:
This artist was a keen observer of nature (he reflected that in his paintings)
Skepticism:
In his quest for realism, he introduced a "burgeoise" into art
He innovated a coloring system that subdued the beauty of pure hues to a new standard of optical truth
Individualism:
Filippo Lippi's works had animated figures that were physiologically varied and individualized in looks
HIS WORK
The most closely linked "ism" to this particular work below is Individualism.
Each person is set apart by their clothing, posture and facial expressions. Even the two similar men in the front are differentiated by contrasting red and green robes.
Madonna and Child (In Majesty with Angels and Saints)
Created March 1437
- Was commissioned for a sacristy funerary chapel in Santo Spirito
- Shows dynamic & complicated actions, which was unheard of in subj of paintings
- Goes farther in human appearance
- Picture's spaces are very complicated
- Worked up less through linear perspective than by color tone gradations, value, figures' actions, and Chiaro Scuro with remarkably dark shading
- Combines personal themes of death and resurrection with elements of Augustinian teaching
- Madonna is presumably the woman in the blue robe and the "child" is the one she's carrying
- This piece has dif individ., it's easy to tell depth by the shading and dimensional efects
- The brighter colors are used on the closer subjects in the painting like royal blue, red and green
- Interesting b/c so much content in pic- there is no one straightforward message to pull from it
- There are questions I have about it that I could research more to answer
Works Cited
"Filippo Lippi, Fra." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context.
Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
"Filippo Lippi, Fra." International Dictionary of Art and Artists. Gale, 1990. Biography in Context.
Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"Fra Filippo Lippi (Italian painter)."Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.
Images:
Filippo Lippi Madonna and Child with angels, Saints Frediano and Augustine (so-called Pala
Barbadori) 1437 Musée du Louvre, INV. 339.
Giambono, FL.1420-1462 Coronation of the Virgin: det.: center: Virgin 1447 Gallerie
dell'Accademia di Venezia ARTstor ARTSTOR_103_41822000566339