Filippino
Lippi

Italia • 1457−1505

Biography and information

Filippino Lippi (Filippino Lippi) – Florentine painter mediascope circle, the most talented of students Sandro Botticelliin some aspects, according to some researchers, even surpassed his teacher.

In the famous book Giorgio Vasarithere are two chapters called "The biography of Filippo Lippi Florentine painter" - 101-I and 125-I. If you skim the table of contents (very simple operation can give an idea of the scale and geography of Italian painting), you'd think the author made a mistake. Not cope with the enormous amount of information and duplicated the head. But by moving the sharpness, we will notice one tiny difference: in front of Filippo Lippi of the 101 Chapter there is another word "fra" means "brother", the traditional appeal to the monk.

For connoisseurs of painting here, of course, no intrigue, no. In the history of the early Italian Renaissance, there were two persons with the same name Filippo Lippi – the father and the son. As he and the other painters were famous and skilful, that they are not confused, the younger began to call him childish, diminutive name – Filipino.

But wait a minute, can think suddenly thoughtful neophyte. If first Lippi, fra Filippowas not only an artist but also a monk, how could his son? How Catholic celibacy?

Well, the story of the birth of painter Filippino Lippi, in fact, not quite ordinary. And to start it if we want to understand the work of the son, you still with the father.

Fra Filippo Lippi was a monk-not Carmelite vocation. Simply so there were circumstances: parents died early, relatives it was difficult to contain it. And Carmelite monks almost immediately noticed Filippo Lippi obvious talent. In 16 years of it already began to say that "he was possessed by the spirit Masaccio". This was a huge praise: Masaccio was considered a genius, not over them Brancacci chapel attracted many artists, and Lippi frescoes she learned to paint and has achieved remarkable success. Most of my life Filippo managed to combine painting and advancement in the Church career ladder. Being by nature an adventurer, he went on trial for embezzlement and forgery, was susceptible to love Affairs. But the works of fra Filippo Lippi was very fond of Cosimo de ' Medici, because the artist could get away with many hands.

In 50 years, Lippi was appointed vicar of the convent. He planned to write altarpiece chose a model of the most charming and gentle of the entrusted to his care by the nuns. Her name was Lucrezia Buti. The girl predictably fell in love with father Abbot, he was not moral hardness. The artist has kidnapped Lucrezia, along with her sister was a nun and lived in his house in Prato, a good estate, despite the vow of poverty, Lippi also had. Here at the Lucrezia and Filippo was born their first – born- Filipino.

I must say that when the scandal with the rape of a nun will be known in the Vatican, Medici personally asked the Pope not to punish Lippi. And Filippo and Lucrezia, according to the papal decree, will be defrocked, and in some years even get a marriage license. Their second son Alessandro will not be illegitimate as Filipino. Spouse and children Lippi we can see in his picture "Madonna under the veil".

Father was the first Filipino teacher. In 1467, the year of Lippi took 10-year-old son with him to the creative expedition to the decoration of the Cathedral in Spoleto. Two years later, Philip is dying, charging son to the care of his friend, a monk and painter, fra diamante. But, returning to Florence, a 15-year-old Filippino entered the workshop of the beloved disciple of his father, Sandro Botticelli.

In the 70-ies of the XV century Sandro Botticelli. was a leading master at the court of Lorenzo de Medici the Magnificent. Around him formed a circle of artists which became known as medically – a word derived from the name "Medici". The most striking of them was a Filipino.

Between the creative manner of Botticelli and Filippino Lippi are much more common than in the past – with the manner of his father. The works of senior Lippi, the biggest artist of the Quattrocento, is a cheerful, fulfilling, and even somewhat naive-unsophisticated, and that's its strength. Filipino style is much more subtle artist, but more a crisis. With Botticelli makes him a lyrical perception of reality, a subtle sadness, wavy rhythms. Surprisingly, they even like their own self-portraits – Sandroand Filipino. Beautiful and thoughtful serious young man with fine features. And about whose brush belongs to some pattern (for example, "Portrait of a young man"from the National gallery of art, Washington) Botticelli or Lippi Junior – discussions are still underway.

One of the first significant paintings Lippi was "A vision of the virgin to St. Bernard"for the Florentine Church of Badia. Filipino quickly made a name for himself in the early 80-ies of the XV century it was his invite to finish the frescoes by Masaccio for the cult object – an unfinished Brancacci chapel. We can try to imagine the excitement experienced by Filipino: Masaccio, who died at 27 years old, is rightly considered a genius, reformer of Renaissance painting; in the Brancacci chapel of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Carmine in his youth spent hours and days with his father, Filippo – perhaps due to the contemplation of the frescoes of Masaccio, he became an artist. And now to finish the great fresco has allowed Filipino. He did it with the greatest art, deliberately abandoning the recognizable style of his own to get closer to the style of Masaccio.

Since the late 1480s, and before the start of the XVI century Filippino Lippi intermittently painted with frescoes of the Cappella Filippo Strozzi the Florentine Church Santa Maria Novella, excommunicated in Rome to work on the Caraffa chapel of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Orders were received a lot. His work was sent to Genoa and Bologna. King of Hungary, Matthew personally demanded that it was painted by Filippino Lippi. But the artist refused to go that far – just put some paintings(including the portrait of the king, written with coin), which is now proud of Hungarian museums.

In Florence, Filippino Lippi loved. However, the capital of Tuscany during his lifetime immersed in a difficult political crisis. The Medici were expelled from the city, which for a short time was headed by Savonarola – friar fanatic, passionately denouncing human vices and sinful Renaissance art: the life of the older Lippi was cited as a negative example. But Filippino, unlike his father, the fornicator, hawk and bullies, was a man extremely helpful, courteous and friendly. Life led a modest and decent than largely was able to make amends in public opinion sins Filippo.

More Filipino inspired the art of Ancient Rome. Through his study of Lippi enriched Italian Renaissance painting, many decorative elements, invented new ways to portray and diversified apparel, weapons and architecture. He was greedy for details, meticulous in work and had the richest imagination and ingenuity.

There is a funny story about how a complete illusion of reality was able to reach Filippino Lippi. He worked on the frescoes of the Strozzi chapel in Florence. One of the frescoes, which occupied the entire wall and depicted in growth St. Philip, who is trying to lure the snaketheir stench poisoned the king's son. Snakes crawled out, broke part of the stone stairs. This step and the hole in her Filippino portrayed is indistinguishable from the real thing. One night one of the apprentices Lippi stayed in the chapel longer than usual, then the door suddenly knocked. The apprentice, who did not want to have an object in his hand caught someone's eye, rushed to the hole, trying to shove the thing in there – and, of course, left holding the bag.

The latest work of Filippino Lippi was the altar in the monastery of SS. Vasari writes that the begun figures Lippi wrote only on the belt – then did not, "caught a severe fever and the throat trouble which people call the toad". It is difficult on the basis of this record to identify the disease, salissou feet by 45-year-old Filipino. Perhaps we are talking about diphtheria croup or something like that. After a few days, in April 1505, the artist was gone. Children buried him in the Church of St. Michael Visdomini. Florence gave Fillipino tribute to those that in the day of his funeral in the city of mourning was closed all art workshops.

Author: Anna Yesterday