Filippino Lippi
Filippino Lippi was born in 1457 at Prato, Tuscany. He entered the world as the illegitimate son of Lucrezia Buti and Fra Filippo Lippi. The couple had broken their vows of celibacy before receiving a papal dispensation to marry. Lorenzo di Medici arranged this marriage, yet Vasari records that they never actually wedded. His sister Alessandra arrived in 1465, adding another child to the household.
The painter Fra Filippo Lippi trained his own son within his workshop. They moved together to Spoleto during the construction of Spoleto Cathedral. Filippino served as an assistant while the great building rose around him. When his father died in 1469, the boy stood twelve years old. He joined other assistants who finished the frescoes known as Storie della Vergine inside the cathedral.
Filippino later completed his apprenticeship under Botticelli. This master had once been a pupil of Filippino's own father. The 1472 records of the Painters' guild noted that Botticelli kept only Filippino Lippi as an assistant. The young artist lived within his master's house during these formative years. They often worked side by side on shared projects.
A dismantled pair of cassoni panels now divides among several museums including the Louvre and the National Gallery of Canada. Many paintings from these early years show Madonnas and Children that remain difficult to distinguish between the two artists. Art critic Bernard Berenson introduced the term Amico di Sandro in 1899 for works dating from 1475 onward. By thirty years later, Berenson attributed most of these pieces directly to Lippi himself.
On the 31st of December 1482, Filippino received a commission to decorate a wall of the Sala dell'Udienza in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. That specific work never began execution. Soon after, probably in 1483 or 1484, he traveled to complete Masaccio's decoration of the Brancacci Chapel inside Santa Maria del Carmine. This chapel had sat unfinished since the original artist died in 1428.
Filippino painted Stories of Saint Peter across five distinct frescoes. These included Quarrel with Simon Magus in face of Nero, Resurrection of the Son of Teophilus, Saint Peter Jailed, Liberation, and Crucifixion of Saint Peter. A self-portrait at age twenty-five appears on the right hand portion of the central panel. The work stands as one of his earliest major public achievements within the city.
In 1488, now in his early thirties, Lippi went to Rome. Lorenzo de' Medici advised Cardinal Oliviero Carafa to entrust him with decorating the family chapel in Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The frescoes produced there showed new inspiration different from earlier works. They confirmed continued research into themes of the classical era. He completed this series by 1493.
The Roman period introduced Grottesco elements that transformed his visual language. Filippino depicted characters in landscapes recreating ancient world details. His style became animated yet mysterious and disquieting. He portrayed ruthless executioners with grim faces raging against Saints. In scenes where St. Philip expelled a monster, pagan deity statues appeared as living figures challenging Christian saints. This shift marked a departure from pure Botticelli influence toward something more personal and effective.
Filippino returned to Florence between 1491 and 1494 after his Roman stay. Works from this period include Apparition of Christ to the Virgin and Adoration of the Magi dated 1496 for San Donato in Scopeto. He also painted Sacrifice of Laocoön for Lorenzo de' Medici's villa at Poggio a Caiano near the end of the century. Additional commissions took him away from home to Certosa di Pavia and Prato.
In 1501 he painted Mystic Wedding of St. Catherine for Bologna's Basilica of San Domenico. The final work remained unfinished at his death on the 18th of April 1504. This Deposition was intended for Santissima Annunziata church in Florence. Perugino finished it in 1507 after Lippi passed away aged forty-seven. On the day of his burial all workshops in the city closed in his honor.
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Common questions
When and where was Filippino Lippi born?
Filippino Lippi was born in 1457 at Prato, Tuscany. He entered the world as the illegitimate son of Lucrezia Buti and Fra Filippo Lippi.
Who trained Filippino Lippi after his father died?
Filippino Lippi completed his apprenticeship under Botticelli after his father died in 1469. The records of the Painters' guild from 1472 noted that Botticelli kept only Filippino Lippi as an assistant.
What major frescoes did Filippino Lippi paint in the Brancacci Chapel?
Filippino Lippi painted Stories of Saint Peter across five distinct frescoes inside Santa Maria del Carmine between 1483 and 1484. These works included Quarrel with Simon Magus, Resurrection of the Son of Teophilus, Saint Peter Jailed, Liberation, and Crucifixion of Saint Peter.
Where did Filippino Lippi work during his Roman period starting in 1488?
Lorenzo de Medici advised Cardinal Oliviero Carafa to entrust Filippino Lippi with decorating the family chapel in Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. He completed this series by 1493 and introduced Grottesco elements into his visual language.
When did Filippino Lippi die and what was his final unfinished work?
Filippino Lippi passed away on the 18th of April 1504 at the age of forty-seven while working on a Deposition for Santissima Annunziata church in Florence. Perugino finished the painting in 1507 after Lippi died.