FRA LIPPO LIPPI
Because of the scandalous
Article 1
 Old Masters of the quattrocento, Fra Filippo Lippi
(also known as Fra Filippo Lippi of the Carmine)
was an important figure in the Renaissance in
Florence during the 15th century.
 SPECIALIZED IN
• Religious art
• Altar piece
• Fresco paintings
• Tempera
• Drawing
 his life was spent in poverty although he appears to
have received patronage from the powerful Medici
family in Florence, beginning with Cosimo de'
Medici.
  Lippi's best known religious paintings are his
frescoes in the Prato and Spoleto cathedrals.
 Lippi was born in Florence in about 1406. Both his
parents died when he was still a child and at 14 he
was sent to live with the Carmelite friars in
Florence. In 1421, at the age of 16 he took his vows
and entered the monastery of Santa Maria del
Carmine.
 Masolino and Masaccio who were engaged in
painting the Brancacci Chapel frescoes, which had
a major influence on him. 1456 Lippi began his
major contribution to the Florentine Renaissance -
namely his frescoes in Prato Cathedral near
Florence. 
 Lucrezia Buti, the daughter of a wealthy Florentine
family who had either been placed in the care of
nuns at Prato convent or was a novice. He
requested that she sit for one of his portraits of the
Madonna and then abducted her.
 Lippi died in 1469 while working on frescoes at
Spoleto cathedral. The nature of his death
remains controversial. There are rumours that he
may have been poisoned by his wife's family, or
even by Lucrezia herself, but this is probably just
speculation.
 He was buried in Spoleto cathedral and marked
with a monument commissioned by Lorenzo the
Magnificent.
  his son Filippino Lippi and Sandro Botticelli (1445-
1510)
ARTICLE 2
 The controversial 15th century painter Fra’
Filippo Lippi, who famously eloped with a nun
who had agreed to pose for him at a Dominican
monastery in Prato, died on or close to this day
in 1469 in Spoleto, a city in Umbria then part of
the Papal States.
He was aged 62 or 63.
nature of his life, there was speculation after his
death that he had been poisoned, possibly by
relatives of Lucrezia Buti, the nun
who fell for his charms and was the mother of two
children by him.
 The art historian Giorgio Vasari claimed that Fra’
Lippi was captured by Barbary pirates during a
boat trip and kept as a slave for 18 months,
supposedly securing his release only after he drew
a picture of his slave master on the wall, using a
piece of coal, that was such an accurate likeness
that it was assumed he had some miraculous
powers.
 He was sent Lucrezia Buti, the daughter of a
Florentine family who, like him, has been sent to a
convent as a child.  Lippi was taken with her beauty
and seduced her. Soon afterwards, while Lucrezia
was taking part in a procession, Lippi effectively
kidnapped her. They moved into his house in Prato.
Their son, Filippino, was born in 1457, followed a
few years later by Alessandra, their daughter.
  Lippi’s conduct, together with his apparent inability
to fulfill contracts in time, got him in trouble. He was
arrested, tried, and tortured. It was only thanks to
the intervention of Cosimo de’ Medici that Lippi was
released and allowed to renounce his vows. The
pope later gave permission for the former priest-
painter and the nun to marry, and from this union
was born a son, Filippo, called Filippino, who was
to be one of the most noted Florentine painters of
the second half of the 15th century.
Portrait of a Woman with a
Man at a Casement
 This is the earliest surviving double portrait in Italy,
the first to show the sitters in a domestic setting,
and the first with a view onto a landscape. The
woman, dressed luxuriously ala francese, her
sleeve embroidered with letters spelling "lealta"
(faithful), is observed by a man—her betrothed?—
appearing at a window, his hands on an identifying
coat of arms. The two figures may be Lorenzo di
Ranieri Scolari and Angiola di Bernardo Sapiti, who
were married about 1439. Lippi’s task was
complicated by the Italian preference for the profile
view as opposed to the three-quarter view preferred
north of the Alps.
The last Supper
painted by Leonardo da Vinci probably between 1495
and 1498 for the Dominican monastery Santa Maria
delle Grazie in Milan.
SUBJECT
Leonardo’s version appears neatly arranged, with Jesus
at the centre of an extensive table and the Apostles
to his left and right. He wears the traditional red and
blue robes and has a beard, but Leonardo did not
imbue him with the customary halo. Some scholars have
proposed that the light from the window behind him
serves this role or that the implied lines of the
pediment above the window create the illusion of a
halo. Other scholars have argued that the missing
attribute may also suggest that Jesus is still a human
being, who, as such, will endure the pain and
suffering of the Passion.
The scene is not a frozen moment but rather a
representation of successive moments. Jesus has
declared his forthcoming betrayal, and the Apostles
react. Philip, who stands in the group to Jesus’ left,
gestures toward himself and seems to say, “Surely
not I, Lord?” Jesus seems to reply, “The one who
has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will
betray me” (Matthew 26:23). Simultaneously, Jesus
and Judas, who sits with the group to Jesus’ right,
reach toward the same dish on the table between
them, an act that marks Judas as the betrayer.
Jesus also gestures toward a glass of wine and a
piece of bread, suggesting the establishment of the
Holy Communion rite.
Jesus’ serene composure, with his head and eyes
lowered, contrasts with the agitation of the
Apostles. Their varying postures rise, fall, extend,
and intertwine while remaining organized in groups
of three. James the Greater, to Christ’s left, throws
his arms out angrily while the disbelieving Thomas,
crouched behind James, points upward and seems
to ask, “Is this God’s plan?” His gesture anticipates
his later reunion with the resurrected Christ, a
moment that was often represented in art with
Thomas using his fingers to touch Christ’s wounds
from the crucifixion to quell his doubts. Peter, who
is identified by the knife in his hand that he will later
use to sever the ear of a soldier attempting to arrest
Jesus, moves toward the mild-tempered John, who
sits to Jesus’ right and appears to swoon. Judas,
gripping the purse that contains his reward for
identifying Jesus, recoils from Peter, seemingly
alarmed at the other Apostle’s quick action.The rest
of the Apostles appear to whisper, grieve, and
debate among themselves.
The meal takes place within an almost austere room so
that the viewer focuses on the action taking place in the
foreground. Dark tapestries line the walls on either
side, while the back wall is dominated by three
windows that look out on an undulating landscape
recalling Milan’s countryside.
Leonardo represented the space by using linear
perspective, a technique rediscovered in the
Renaissance that employs parallel lines that
converge at a single vanishing point to create the
illusion of depth on a flat surface. He placed the
vanishing point at Jesus’s right temple, thus
drawing the viewer’s attention toward the main
subject. Although linear perspective seems like a
systemized method of creating the illusion of space,
it is complicated by its reliance on a single vantage
point. Any viewing position other than the vantage point
reveals a slightly distorted painted space. Later,
scholars discovered that the vantage point for the
Last Supper is about 15 feet (4.57 metres) above
ground. Leonardo likely chose this relatively high height
because the painting’s bottom edge is 8 feet (2.44
metres) above ground and using a vantage from the
floor would have meant viewers would only have been
able to see the underside of the table, not the action
taking place above. Consequently, the painted space of
the Last Supper always appears sightly at odds with the
refectory space. It is one of many visual paradoxes
scholars have observed about the painting. They have
also noted that the table is far too large to fit in the
depicted room, yet it is not large enough to seat the 13
men, at least not along the three sides where they are
placed. The scene, so seemingly simple and organized,
is a puzzling resolution to the challenge of creating the
illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat surface.
 Leonardo da Vinci was an artist and engineer who
is best known for his paintings, notably the Mona
Lisa (c. 1503–19) and the Last Supper (1495–98).
His drawing of the Vitruvian Man (c. 1490) has also
become a cultural icon. Leonardo is sometimes
credited as the inventor of the tank, helicopter,
parachute, and flying machine, among other
vehicles and devices, but later scholarship has
disputed such claims. Nonetheless, Leonardo’s
notebooks reveal a sharp intellect, and his
contributions to art, including methods of
representing space, three-dimensional objects,
and the human figure, cannot be overstated.
 Leonardo da Vinci, (Italian: “Leonardo from
Vinci”) (born April 15, 1452, Anchiano, near Vinci,
Republic of Florence [Italy]—died May 2, 1519,
Cloux [now Clos-Lucé], France), Italian painter,
draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer
whose skill and intelligence, perhaps more than
that of any other figure, epitomized the
Renaissance humanist ideal. His Last Supper
(1495–98) and Mona Lisa (c. 1503–19) are among
the most widely popular and influential paintings of
the Renaissance. His notebooks reveal a spirit of
scientific inquiry and a mechanical inventiveness
that were centuries ahead of their time.
Separation of Light From Darkness is the first in a
series of 9 paintings in the center of the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel, which chronologically depict the
birth of the world, the creation of Man and Man’s fall
from grace.
Michelangelo is known for having done extensive work
creating visual representation of Biblical stories and
lore, and this piece is part of that theme in his body
of work. As the first of these paintings, it sets the scene
for the drama to come, showing the viewer the artist’s
vision of how the universe began.
Naturally then, the central attraction of the piece is
God, a large, muscular figure who looks capable and
almost intimidating as he rips the two contrasting
halves of the sky apart. The way his face is angled
upward, focusing on the task at hand instead of the
viewer, suggests a remoteness to him that is fitting
to his grandiose being.
The figures themselves also demonstrate
Michelangelo’s famed and unimpeachable grasp of
the anatomy of the human body. While the four
youths are not doing anything obvious to
demonstrate their strength at the moment, their
muscular build is wholly evident. This is common in
Renaissance art, as faithful representation of the
real world was seen as one of the highest artistic
aspirations.
While nudity was for this reason more common than
not in paintings and sculptures, the simple fact that
the young men are nude and God is not might also
be a signifier of the difference in nature and power
between the two – God’s billowing red robe gives
him a fitting air of majesty and mystery, while the
humans surrounding him are clearly nothing more
than ordinary men.

The actual task he is doing also does not seem

particularly difficult for him. He is posed gracefully,
not in a way which suggests that any kind of
straining is necessary to achieve what he’s trying to
do. It’s an impressive act with a lot of importance,
but he is equal to it.

The swirling clouds of white and black matter also

do an excellent job of representing the cosmic
forces at work in the painting; there is no mistaking
the grand idea they represent, but they are also
ethereal enough to allow the viewer to connect with
them on a primal level.

The brush strokes that are used to create them are

just a little bit less smooth and polished than those
used to create God, giving the sense of something
raw and unrefined with tremendous power. The light
clouds are also just a little bit more prominent than
their dark counterparts; this makes it clear that
although there must be a balance between the two
forces, humanity will ultimately be living in a world
dominated by light (or at least, that may be God’s
hope).

Equally important as the scene itself, however, is

the bold border depicting four young men relaxing
on various pillars and rock sculptures that adorns
the edges of the piece. Some scholars speculate
that the figures are meant to be tied to the concepts
of light and dark through an affiliation with night and
day – those closest to the dark clouds appear
drowsy while those on the opposite side appear to
be engaged in activity.

If this was Michelangelo’s intention, however, it isn’t

made entirely clear. Another possibility is that it is
intended to ground the epic inner image in a more
familiar sense of reality. Its mundane nature makes
for a curious contrast to the heavenly act of creation
that is going on right next to it, suggesting that
perhaps we should not think of God as being solely
high above us, but also right beside us and present
in our everyday lives. After all, the work God is
doing in the image is ultimately in the service of
Man.