Fra Filippo Lippi - one of the great Florentine painters, mentor of the artist Botticelli, has one of the most interesting biographies of the early Renaissance.
Biography
Filippo Lippi was born in 1406 in the family of a butcher, Tommaso di Lippi, in one of the poorest quarters of Florence. His mother died a few days after the birth of her son, and two years later his father also dies. The orphan Filippo is raised by his father's sister, but at the age of eight, due to poverty, he was given as a novice to the Carmelite del Carmine monastery.
At the age of 15, Filippo Lippi was forced to take a monastic vow. Life in the monastery was not easy for him. Having no interest in science and books, he painted human figures and cartoons on parchment.
After a while, Filippo's mentor noticed his artistic ability. The young man began to visit the churches of Florence and copy the frescoes located there. Here the talent of the young artist began to manifest itself, and the monks commissioned him to complete work on the murals of the Brancacci monastery chapel, which the painter Masaccio had not completed in due time. Filippo did an excellent job with this task, and he began to receive orders for painting other churches.
In 1431 the young artist leaves the monastery and until 1434 nothing is known about his activities. Then Filippo goes to Padua. Apparently, there he gets acquainted with the paintings of Dutch and French artists, since, after returning to Florence, his artistic style changes.
In 1438, his life changed dramatically. Cosimo Medici takes him under his patronage, who until the end of the artist's life provided him with orders and money. With the help of such a generous philanthropist, Filippo is first appointed chaplain to the Church of San Giovanno, and then he is transferred to the Church of San Chirico near Florence. This period of the master's life is considered the most fruitful. At this time, he creates his most famous works, which express the original, incomparable style of the painter. Also at this time, the young Sandro Botticelli became a student of Filippo Lippi.
Filippo Lippi passed away while working on a cycle of frescoes in Spoletto. He was 63 years old. His patron, Cosimo Medici, wanted to bury Lippi in his homeland, but the people of Spoletto persuaded him to leave the artist's ashes in his city.
Creation
During the period of time when Filippo Lippi lived, the training of students in painting or craft took place in the workshops of artists. But Filippo formed himself as an artist on his own, as he was from a poor family and no one could pay for his education. There is no doubt that such painters as Masacho and Masolino had an influence on his work. A visit to Padua and an acquaintance with the painting technique of other masters served as an impetus for the development of his own unique style of painting. The works of Filippo Lippi are distinguished by the elaboration of details and the presence of a large number of various small elements.
Filippo liked to paint pictures on religious themes. In his work, scenes from the Annunciation and from the life of the Madonna are often found. Many art historians believe that Filippo Lippi painted his beloved women, and later his wife, in the gentle face of the Madonna. The artist was the first to paint his creations in a round frame. Later this technique called "tondo" will become very popular in Italy. Many works in this format will appear from Sandro Botticelli, who clearly took it from his teacher. The artist often included architectural objects in his canvases. They did not always have the correct proportions, but this helped to make Filippo's paintings varied, as well as to receive orders for sculptural decoration of tombs.
Some technical innovations are associated with the name of Filippo Lippi, which played an important role in the formation of painting in Italy at that time. Lippi was the first among the artists of the Renaissance to write self-portraits in the compositions of his works. His full, round face with a slightly ironic expression can be seen in the Coronation of Mary fresco (Uffizi Gallery). We see the artist's self-portrait in this picture twice: the first time he appears to the viewer as an ordinary monk, propping his chin with his hand, and the second - in the image of a bishop in a green robe.
Another innovation is the fact that Lippi was the first to paint a religious scene in the interior space. It was the painting "Madonna and Child, Angels, Saints and Praying", commissioned by the Carmelites.
The most famous works of the artist are: "Annunciation" (1450), "Altar of Novitiato" (1445), "Vision of Blessed Augustine" (about 1460), "Madonna and Child with Two Angels" (1460-1465).).
Personal life
The famous biographer Giorgio Vasari noted that Filippo Lippi was a passionate and amorous person. He liked women, and he loved to live for his own pleasure. There are never elderly people in the master's works. Because of his cheerful, unbridled nature, Filippo often got into all sorts of stories.
Some of these stories are true. So, when he was appointed chaplain to the convent, Filippo took the opportunity and seduced one of the nuns, Lucrezia Buti. The young girl agreed to flee with the fifty-year-old artist, but after a while Filippo was arrested. Only after the intercession of Cosimo Medici, Filippo Lippi was released. He took off his monastic vow and entered into a legal marriage with Lucretia Buti. In this marriage, the couple had a son, Filippino, who later became an artist, and a daughter, Alexander.
