,,masterpieces ,,in ,,colour ,,edited ,,by ,t4 ,,leman ,,hare ,,fra ,,filippo ,,lippi 7#adjf-adfi7 ,,masterpieces ,,in ,,colour ,,series ,,artist4 ,,author4 ,,bellini4 ,,george ,,hay4 ,,botticelli4 ,,henry ,b4 ,,binns4 ,,boucher4 ,c4 ,,haldane ,,macfall4 ,,burne-,,jones4 ,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4 ,,carlo ,,dolci4 ,,george ,,hay4 ,,chardin4 ,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4 ,,constable4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,corot4 ,,sidney ,,allnutt4 ,,da ,,vinci4 ,m4 ,w4 ,,brockwell4 ,,delacroix4 ,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4 ,d,,rer4 ,h4 ,e4 ,a4 ,,furst4 ,,fra ,,angelico4 ,,james ,,mason4 ,,fra ,,filippo ,,lippi4 ,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4 ,,fragonard4 ,c4 ,,haldane ,,macfall4 ,,franz ,,hals4 ,,edgcumbe ,,staley4 ,,gainsborough4 ,,max ,,rothschild4 ,,greuze4 ,,alys ,,eyre ,,macklin4 ,,hogarth4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,holbein4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,holman ,,hunt4 ,,mary ,e4 ,,coleridge4 ,,ingres4 ,a4 ,j4 ,,finberg4 ,,lawrence4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,le ,,brun 7,,vig,e74 ,c4 ,,haldane ,,macfall4 ,,leighton4 ,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4 ,,luini4 ,,james ,,mason4 ,,mantegna4 ,,mrs4 ,,arthur ,,bell4 ,,memlinc4 ,w4 ,h4 ,j4 ,j4 ,c4 ,,weale4 ,,millais4 ,a4 ,,lys ,,baldry4 ,,millet4 ,,percy ,m4 ,,turner4 ,,murillo4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,perugino4 ,,selwyn ,,brinton4 ,,raeburn4 ,,james ,l4 ,,caw4 ,,raphael4 ,,paul ,g4 ,,konody4 ,,rembrandt4 ,,josef ,,israels4 ,,reynolds4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,romney4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,rossetti4 ,,lucien ,,pissarro4 ,,rubens4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,sargent4 ,t4 ,,martin ,,wood4 ,,tintoretto4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,titian4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,turner4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,van ,,dyck4 ,,percy ,m4 ,,turner4 ,,velazquez4 ,s4 ,l4 ,,bensusan4 ,,watteau4 ,c4 ,,lewis ,,hind4 ,,watts4 ,w4 ,,loftus ,,hare4 ,,whistler4 ,t4 ,,martin ,,wood4 ,others in ,preparation4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,i4--,,the ,,virgin ,,adoring ,,the ,,infant ,,saviour 7,in the ,accademia1 ,florence7 ,in this earliest known picture by ,filippo ,lippi1 the painter is still entirely under the influence of his youthful training4 ,it is just like an illuminated miniature on a large scale1 and is lacking in unity of design or pictorial vision4 ,note the way in which the figure of the ,madonna is detached from the background1 without having any real plastic life2 and how awkwardly the monk is placed in the corner4 ,the rocky landscape1 with its steep perspective1 is still quite in the spirit of the early primitives1 although certain realistic details1 like the cut-down tree-stump behind the ,virgin1 and the reflection of the sky in the water1 show his loving observation of ,nature4 ,the picture was for a long time attributed to ,masaccio's master1 ,masolino4 ,filippo ,lippi ,,by ,p4 ,g4 ,,konody ,,illustrated ,,with ,,eight ,,reproductions ,,in ,,colour ,illustration3 ,,in ,,sempiternum4 ,,london3 ,t4 ,c4 ,e4 ,c4 ,,jack ,,new ,,york3 ,,frederick ,a4 ,,stokes ,,co4 ,,contents ,page ,i4 #i ,,ii4 #ai ,,iii4 #da ,,iv4 #ff ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,plate ,i4 ,the ,virgin ,adoring the ,infant ,saviour ,frontispiece ,in the ,accademia1 ,florence ,page ,,ii4 ,st4 ,john the ,baptist with six other ,saints #ad ,in the ,national ,gallery1 ,london ,,iii4 ,the ,vision of ,st4 ,bernard #bd ,in the ,national ,gallery1 ,london ,,iv4 ,the ,annunciation #cd ,in the ,national ,gallery1 ,london ,v4 ,the ,coronation of the ,virgin #dj ,in the ,accademia1 ,florence ,,vi4 ,the ,virgin and ,child #ej ,in the ,pitti ,palace1 ,florence ,,vii4 ,the ,virgin and ,child with two ,angels #fj ,in the ,uffizi ,gallery1 ,florence ,,viii4 ,the ,virgin and ,child with ,angels and two ,abbots #gj ,in the ,louvre1 ,paris ,illustration ,i ,in ,vasari's gossipy ,lives of the ,painters1 and indeed in most art histories written before the era of scientific critical research1 there is an inclination1 in the absence of documentary material1 to reconstruct the old masters' characters and lives from the evidence of their extant works4 ,many a charming legend1 that was originally suggested by the expression of the painter's personality in his art1 and has been handed down from generation to generation1 had to be shelved as dusty archives yielded new knowledge of indisputable prosaic facts to the diligent searcher4 ,whilst the serious student owes a debt of deep gratitude to those who devote their time and labour to the investigation of documentary evidence1 and to establishing critical standards for the sifting of the great masters' works from those of their followers and imitators1 the elimination of romance from the history of art is a hindrance rather than a help to the ordinary person who cares not a jot about morphological characteristics1 but loves nevertheless to spend an hour now and then in communion with the old masters4 ,for him1 paradoxical though it may seem1 there is more significant truth in many an entirely fictitious anecdote1 than in the dry facts recorded by the conscientious historian4 ,thus we know now that ,domenico ,veneziano outlived ,andrea dal ,castagno by several years1 and could therefore not have been foully murdered by his jealous rival4 ,but does not the fable of this act of violence1 suggested no doubt by the fierceness and rugged strength of ,andrea's art1 help the layman to understand and appreciate the qualities which constitute the greatness of that art8 ,we know now that ,fra ,angelico1 far from accounting it a sin to paint from the nude1 was an eager student of human anatomy2 but the stories told of his piety and angelic sweetness have become so fused with everybody's conception of the ,dominican friar's art1 that even those to whom the spiritual significance of art is a sealed book1 search almost instinctively for signs of religious fervour and exaltation in ,fra ,angelico's paintings4 ,the stories of ,sodoma's habits of life and of his strange doings at ,mont' ,oliveto belong probably to the realm of fiction1 but they serve to explain and accentuate the worldly tendencies of his artistic achievement4 ,in these instances1 to which many others might easily be added1 the artists' personality and manner of life have been fancifully reconstructed from the character of their work4 ,very different is the case of ,fra ,filippo ,lippi4 ,here criticism has seized upon certain authentic facts of the ,carmelite friar's life and amorous adventures--facts that in their main current have been established beyond the possibility of dispute1 even though they have been embroidered upon by imaginative pens--and has dealt with his art in the light of that knowledge1 reading into his paintings not only his artistic emotions1 but his personal desires and passions4 ,only thus can it be explained that generation after generation of writers on art have misconstrued the exquisite and touching innocence and virgin purity of his ,madonna type into an expression of sensuality4 ,again and again we read about the pronounced worldliness of ,fra ,filippo's religious paintings1 about their lack of spiritual significance and devout feeling4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ii4--,,st4 ,,john ,,the ,,baptist ,,with ,,six ,,other ,,saints 7,in the ,national ,gallery1 ,london7 ,the companion picture to the ,annunciation lunette is the first rendering in ,italian art of a ,santa ,conversatione in the open air4 ,it is just an assembly of seven saints1 without any real inner connection1 the two pairs at the sides--,,ss4 ,francis and ,lawrence on the left1 and ,,ss4 ,anthony and ,peter ,martyr on the right--being absorbed in their own doings and paying no attention to the blessing which ,st4 ,john apparently bestows upon ,,ss4 ,cosmas and ,damianus1 the patron saints of the ,medici family4 ,the little glimpse of a landscape background behind the marble bench affords evidence of ,fra ,filippo's close study of ,nature even at that early period4 ,vasari1 of course1 is the fountain-head of this misconception of the ,carmelite's art4 ,according to the ,aretine biographer1 it was said that ,fra ,filippo was much addicted to the pleasures of sense1 insomuch that he would give all he possessed to secure the gratification of whatever inclination might at the moment be predominant1 but if he could by no means accomplish his wishes1 he would then depict the object which had attracted his attention in his paintings1 and endeavour by discoursing and reasoning with himself to diminish the violence of his inclination4 ,it was known that1 while occupied in the pursuit of his pleasures1 the works undertaken by him received little or none of his attention4 ,it so happens that many of the discreditable incidents of the friar's life1 recorded by ,vasari1 have been confirmed by documentary evidence4 ,there is not a shadow of doubt that ,fra ,filippo did abduct the nun ,lucrezia ,buti from her convent2 that ,filippino ,lippi was the offspring of this illicit union2 and that the ,frate subsequently did not avail himself of the special papal dispensation to wed the nun4 ,there is also abundant proof to show that ,fra ,filippo1 in spite of the high esteem in which he was held as an artist1 and which caused him to be entrusted with many a remunerative commission1 was for ever in financial straits1 was involved in many vexatious law cases1 attempted to cheat his own assistants1 and had no hesitation to break faith with his patrons4 ,but all this does not affect his art4 ,to read sensuality into his types of womanhood can only be the result of prejudice1 of approaching his pictures in the light of the knowledge gathered from the pages of the chroniclers4 ,worldly he is compared with the pure1 exalted spirituality of the ,dominican ,fra ,angelico1 but only in so far as he belonged already to the new era which had discovered1 and revelled in1 the visible beauty of this world of ours1 whilst ,fra ,angelico1 his contemporary1 still belongs to the earlier age that looked to the empyrean for all true happiness4 ,the art of both masters is planted in ,gothic soil1 though it bore different fruit1 that of ,fra ,angelico being still essentially ,gothic1 though often tinged with a ,renaissance flavour1 whilst that of ,fra ,filippo has all the richness and fullness of the ,renaissance1 of which he was one of the great initiators4 ,that such conceptions as the ,virgin in ,national ,gallery ,annunciation1 or the lovely ,madonna in the tondo at the ,palazzo ,pitti1 and many other authentic works by the master1 are lacking in spirituality of expression1 cannot be seriously maintained by anybody who approaches these pictures with an open mind and judges the artist by his achievement1 not by his manner of life4 ,even ,mr4 ,berenson1 the most authoritative modern critic of ,italian art1 denies ,fra ,filippo a profound sense of either material or spiritual significance--the essential qualifications of the real artist1 although he admits in the same essay#a that his real place is with the genre painters1 only his genre was that of the soul1 as that of others--of ,benozzo ,gozzoli1 for example--was of the body4 ,browning1 with the true poet's intuition1 states the case of ,fra ,filippo more clearly than the vast majority of professional critics from ,vasari to the present day1 when he makes the friar exclaim3 444 ,now is this sense1 ,i ask8 ,a fine way to paint soul1 by painting body ,so ill1 the eye can't stop there1 must go further ,and can't fare worse6444 99 99 99 99 99 ,why can't a painter lift each foot in turn1 ,left foot and right foot1 go a double step1 ,make his flesh liker and his soul more like1 ,both in their order8444 99 99 99 99 99 ,suppose ,i've made her eyes all right and blue1 ,can't ,i take breath and try to add life's flash1 ,and then add soul and heighten them threefold8 ,,ii ,whereas all questions concerning ,fra ,filippo's artistic education remain largely a matter of conjecture and deduction1 there is no lack of documentary material for a fairly accurate reconstruction of his life4 ,vasari remains1 of course1 the basis for any such attempt2 but the archives of ,florence and ,prato have yielded a rich harvest of contemporary records1 on the strength of which it is possible to clear up the contradictions and to correct the numerous errors that have crept into ,vasari's life of ,the ,florentine ,painter1 ,fra ,filippo ,lippi4 ,filippo was the son of ,tommaso di ,lippo1 a butcher in a poor quarter of ,florence1 and of ,mona ,antonia di ,bindo ,sernigi4 ,none of the various dates given in his wonted loose fashion by ,vasari for the birth of the artist1 accords with ascertainable facts1 which point to the years #adjf to #adji1 with probability favouring the earlier date4 ,according to a document in the ,archivio di ,stato in ,florence1 confirmed by an entry in the account books of the convent of the ,carmine1 in which ,philippus ,tomasi is stated to have received his garments at the expense of that establishment1 ,filippo took the habit in the year #adba4 ,there are no reasons to doubt ,milanesi's well-reasoned suggestion that the artist was fifteen years of age when he took the vow--which would place the year of his birth about #adjf4 ,by the death of his father1 continues ,vasari1 he was left a friendless orphan at the age of two years1 his mother having also died shortly after his birth4 ,the child was for some time under the care of a certain ,mona ,lapaccia1 his aunt1 the sister of his father1 who brought him up with great difficulty till he had attained his eighth year1 when1 being no longer able to support the burden of his maintenance1 she placed him in the convent of the ,carmelites4 ,since1 however1 an income-tax return1 discovered by ,milanesi1 proves ,mona ,antonia1 ,filippo's mother1 to have been still alive in #adbg1 and apparently in tolerably comfortable circumstances1 this account of ,filippo's sad childhood must be relegated to the sphere of fiction4 ,destined for the ,church1 he was presumably at the age of eight placed with the ,carmelites to be prepared for his vocation4 ,that he showed no inclination for book-learning and manifested the utmost dullness and incapacity in letters1 and that he preferred to daub his and the other boys' books with caricatures1 need not be doubted1 for his extant letters prove him to have been strikingly illiterate even for his days4 ,nor is ,filippo the only artist who evinced an early inclination for the artistic profession in this manner4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iii4--,,the ,,vision ,,of ,,st4 ,,bernard 7,in the ,national ,gallery1 ,london7 ,the ,vision of ,st4 ,bernard1 although at present the mere ghost of a picture from which almost every vestige of the original colour has faded away1 is an important landmark in ,fra ,filippo's life1 as it is one of the few works about which we have definite dates4 ,it is mentioned by ,vasari as being one of two pictures intended to be placed over doors in the ,palazzo della ,signoria1 ,florence4 ,a contemporary record states1 that on ,may #af1 #addg1 ,fra ,filippo received #dj lire for having painted the figure of the ,virgin and of ,st4 ,bernard4 ,the companion picture1 which represented the ,annunciation1 has disappeared4 ,and now ,vasari loses himself in a tangle of incorrect and contradictory assertions4 ,first1 that the ,brancacci ,chapel of the ,carmine had then just been finished by ,masaccio1 and so delighted the young ,carmelite that he frequented it daily for his recreation1 and so completely absorbed ,masaccio's style that many affirmed the spirit of ,masaccio to have entered the body of ,fra ,filippo4 ,at this period he painted several frescoes in the ,carmine1 and one in terra verde in the cloister of that church4 ,as a result of the high praise bestowed upon him for these early efforts1 he formed his resolution at the age of seventeen1 and boldly threw off the clerical habit4 ,to begin with1 the account books of the ,carmine show that ,fra ,filippo remained at that monastic establishment at least until #adca1 when he was about twenty-five years of age4 ,that even then he did not throw off his clerical habit is clearly proved by the fact that he subsequently held the posts of abbot of ,s4 ,quirico a ,legnaja1 and of chaplain to the nuns of ,sta4 ,margherita at ,prato4 ,of the early frescoes recorded by ,vasari and other writers1 every vestige has disappeared1 so that it is impossible to trace through them the supposed direct or indirect teaching of ,masaccio4 ,but there is something wrong about the dates4 ,masaccio wrought his ,carmine frescoes between #adbe and #adbg1 so that his could not possibly have been the earliest influence upon the young monk's impressionable mind4 ,nor is there even a hint of ,masaccio's monumental style in the earliest known works by ,filippo3 the two ,nativities in the ,florence ,academy1 and the ,annunciation in the ,pinakothek in ,munich4 ,that ,fra ,filippo1 like all the masters of the ,florentine ,renaissance1 was1 in his later life1 powerfully influenced by the genius of ,masaccio1 is only natural1 and cannot be doubted by anybody who has seen his frescoes at ,prato4 ,for his earliest inspiration1 however1 one has to look for other sources2 and modern criticism is pretty well agreed upon this point1 that the pictures painted by the friar in his youthful years are based on the trecento tradition1 and that the only late ,giottesque who could have been his master is the ,camaldolese1 ,lorenzo ,monaco4 ,lorenzo ,monaco's teaching1 at any rate1 is suggested by ,fra ,filippo's first ,nativity at the ,florence ,academy1 which suggests the methods of the school of miniaturists in which ,lorenzo had been trained1 although these tendencies are clearly tempered by the influence of ,masolino1 ,masaccio's precursor in the decoration of the ,brancacci ,chapel1 and also of ,fra ,angelico4 ,indeed1 this ,nativity was actually for a long time attributed to ,masolino4 ,throughout his life1 ,fra ,filippo1 in his steady advance from ,giottism to such triumphantly vital achievement as his ,prato frescoes1 evinced the greatest eagerness to absorb what was newest and best4 ,no doubt he watched ,masolino at work at the ,carmine1 and later on ,masaccio1 whose influence clearly appears in ,fra ,filippo's mature work4 ,but he also learnt from the example of all the other masters who wrought in and near ,florence in the early part of the fifteenth century4 ,sir ,frederick ,cook's tondo clearly shows the influence of ,gentile da ,fabriano4 ,of ,fra ,angelico we are reminded by the profound devotional feeling and mystic intentness of his early works4 ,from ,pier dei ,franceschi he acquired afterwards the feeling for atmospheric effects which was unknown to the ,giottesques1 to ,fra ,angelico1 and even to ,masaccio4 ,nor did he fail to study the reliefs of ,donatello1 of which we are forcibly reminded by the ,madonna and ,child with the laughing ,angel at the ,uffizi4 ,and since ,miss ,mendelssohn has shown that the dancing ,salome in the ,prato fresco is practically copied from the figure of ,luna descending from her ,chariot in the relief on the ,endymion sarcophagus1 we have proof that ,lippi was also a student of the antique4 ,the patronage which the powerful ,medici family1 and especially ,cosimo de' ,medici1 bestowed upon ,fra ,filippo ,lippi1 probably dates back to the time when the friar was still working within the walls of the ,carmine4 ,the ,nativity 7,no4 #gi7 at the ,florence ,academy was painted in the early thirties of the fifteenth century for ,cosimo's wife1 who commissioned it for the ,camaldoli hermitage4 ,for ,cosimo himself he painted the two lunettes now in the ,national ,gallery3 ,the ,annunciation and ,st4 ,john the ,baptist with six other ,saints1 which were originally placed over two doors in the ,riccardi ,palace4 ,other pictures by their protg were sent by members of the ,medici family as gifts to the ,king of ,naples and other ,italian princes4 ,and there is no lack of documentary evidence that the friar frequently petitioned members of that powerful family for pecuniary or other assistance1 for his disorderly habits of life brought him into many a scrape1 and resulted in constant financial stress4 ,thus in a letter of ,august #ac1 #adci1 to ,piero de' ,medici1 he describes himself as one of the poorest friars in ,florence1 whom ,god left to look after six unmarried1 infirm1 and useless nieces4 ,the object of the letter was to beg his patron to be supplied with wine and corn on credit4 ,when ,cosimo was banished from ,florence in #adcc1 and took up his residence at ,padua1 he was accompanied by a small army of courtiers and artists4 ,it is very probable that ,fra ,filippo was of their number4 ,vasari's brief reference to paintings executed by the master in ,padua is supported by ,filarete and the ,anonimo ,morelliano1 and may therefore be relied upon1 although every trace of these works has vanished4 ,there is nothing in the extant records of the artist's movements to make his presence at ,padua in #adcc-d appear impossible4 ,on the other hand1 ,vasari's story of ,filippo's capture by pirates on the coast of the ,marches of ,ancona1 his long-extended captivity and final liberation by his master whose favour he had gained by the excellence of art1 and his visit to ,naples on the home journey1 belongs to the realm of fable4 ,in or before #adcg1 ,fra ,filippo was certainly back in ,florence1 since the ,deliberazioni of the ,company of ,orsanmichele show that in that year he was commissioned to paint the great altarpiece of the ,madonna and ,child1 with ,angels and two ,abbots for the ,barbadori ,chapel in ,santo ,spirito1 which is now one of the treasures of the ,louvre4 ,it is this picture to which ,domenico ,veneziano refers in a letter to ,piero de' ,medici1 dated ,perugia1 ,april #a1 #adch1 asking to be entrusted with the commission for an altarpiece1 since ,fra ,filippo and ,fra ,giovanni have much work to do1 and especially ,fra ,filippo has a panel for ,santo ,spirito which1 should he work day and night1 will not be done in five years1 so great is the work4 ,yet in the following year we find him writing a begging letter to the same ,piero de' ,medici4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iv4--,,the ,,annunciation 7,in the ,national ,gallery1 ,london7 ,this charming lunette and its companion1 ,st4 ,john the ,baptist and ,six ,saints1 were painted for the decoration of an apartment in the ,riccardi ,palace1 by order of ,cosimo de' ,medici1 whose crest--three feathers in a ring--is introduced in the stucco ornamentation of the balustrade4 ,they were painted about #adch1 towards the end of ,fra ,filippo's first ,florentine period1 and show far greater richness of colour and better management of light than his earlier known works at the ,florence ,academy4 ,the perspective is still faulty1 and the vase in the centre of the picture is terribly out of drawing4 ,it has been suggested that this picture and the ,seven ,saints were the very panels on which ,filippo ,lippi was at work when he effected his romantic escape from ,cosimo's palace1 which is the subject of ,browning's well-known poem4 ,there can be no doubt that the gay friar led the life of a true ,bohemian--that he was fond of women and wine1 and wasted his substance in the company of his boon companions4 ,he spent his money as rapidly as he earned it1 and was therefore in constant financial difficulties1 which involved him in no end of litigation4 ,his most prosperous years apparently began in #addb1 when1 probably through ,cosimo's intervention1 ,pope ,eugene ,,iv4 made him rector of the parish church of ,s4 ,quirico a ,legnaja1 of which post he was deprived by papal decree as a result of an action brought against him by his assistant1 ,giovanni da ,rovezzano4 ,giovanni sued him for the amount of forty florins due to him for work done1 and ,fra ,filippo did not shrink from producing a forged receipt4 ,to this at least he confessed on the rack when he saw his intestines protruding from his wounds4 ,whether much weight can be attached to a confession obtained by such means is another question1 but there is nothing in the career of ,fra ,filippo to make such disgraceful conduct appear impossible4 ,an appeal to the ,pope led to another investigation of the case4 ,the judgment of the ,curia was confirmed1 the ,pope referring on this occasion to ,fra ,filippo as a painter qui plurima et nefanda scelera perpetravit4 ,nevertheless1 some years later1 our artist is still mentioned as rettore e commendatario di ,san ,quirico a ,legnaja4 ,from which it may be assumed that the judgment deprived him merely of his spiritual office1 and left him in enjoyment of the revenue connected with the post4 ,the ups and downs of ,filippo ,lippi's career in the fifties of the fourteen-hundreds are more than a little confusing4 ,of commissions there was no lack4 ,and certain emoluments must have come to him from his ecclesiastic appointments4 ,his disgraceful conduct towards ,giovanni da ,rovezzano1 and the notorious looseness of his morals--one need only recall the well-known anecdote of his escape through a window of the ,medici ,palace in search of amorous adventure--did not stand in the way of his being made chaplain to the nuns of ,s4 ,niccol de' ,fieri1 in #adej1b and of ,santa ,margherita in ,prato1 in #adef4 ,he bought a little house at ,prato in #adeb1 and another in #aded4 ,during this whole period he had so much work on hand that he was unable to fulfil his contracts1 which led to further unpleasant litigations4 ,yet in #aded1 as we learn from ,neri di ,lorenzo di ,bicci's diaries1 he found it advisable to deposit some gold-leaf with the said ,neri1 in order to save it from seizure by his creditors4 ,on ,july #bj1 #adeg1 he writes to ,giovanni de' ,medici to ask for an advance payment for work in hand--the same work1 presumably1 over the execution of which he was so tardy that ,francesco ,cantamanti had to visit his studio daily to urge its completion on behalf of his patron4 ,in his report to ,giovanni de' ,medici1 dated ,august #ca1 #adeg1 ,cantamanti states that on the preceding day ,fra ,filippo's studio was seized by his landlord for arrears of rent4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,v4--,,the ,,coronation ,,of ,,the ,,virgin 7,in the ,accademia1 ,florence7 ,the crowning achievement of ,filippo ,lippi's second ,florentine period1 the great ,coronation of the ,virgin1 was commissioned by ,francesco de ,maringhi1 chaplain to the nuns of ,sant' ,ambrogio1 who died long before the completion of the picture1 having provided in his will of ,july #bh1 #adda1 for the manner in which settlement should be effected4 ,thus1 in #adda1 ,filippo was already engaged upon this altarpiece1 which he did not complete before #addg4 ,on ,june #i of that year he was paid the stipulated fee of #abjj lire4 ,although the picture has suffered considerably1 it is even in its present condition one of the most entrancing creations of ,florentine art4 ,that the painter himself was proud of the result of his labours1 may be gathered from the fact that he introduced his own portrait in a prominent position4 ,in ,borghini's ,riposo1 published in #agig1 it is stated that the painter's name1 ,frater ,filippus1 was then to be seen somewhere near the centre of the picture4 ,meanwhile the ,carmelite's art had made prodigious progress4 ,filippo ,lippi1 the pupil of the last ,giottesque1 was now swimming abreast of the mighty current of the ,renaissance4 ,if his early ,madonnas recall something of the spirituality and nave faith of ,fra ,angelico1 the altarpieces of his later ,florentine period1 and1 above all1 the superb ,coronation of the ,virgin1 painted for ,sant' ,ambrogio1 and now in the ,florence ,academy1 are inspired by the beauty of this visible world4 ,the atmosphere is of this earth1 and not of the celestial regions4 ,his types are no longer ethereal1 but realistically robust4 ,in the ,coronation of the ,virgin he has left us a portrait of himself at the age of about forty1 in the figure of the kneeling monk on the left1 towards whom an angel raises a scroll with the lettering ,,is ,,perfecit ,,opus4 ,the features are rather coarse and heavy1 but scarcely express that low sensuality which his biographers have tried to read into them4 ,the expression of his eyes in particular is intelligent1 frank1 and good-natured4 ,,iii ,the ,sant' ,ambrogio altarpiece must have added enormously to the reputation which the ,carmelite painter enjoyed among his contemporaries4 ,it was only natural that he should have been chosen by the proposto ,gemignano ,inghirami and by the magistrates of ,prato to undertake the fresco decoration in the choir of the cathedral of that city1 when ,fra ,angelico1 in spite of repeated urging1 refused to accept this important commission1 his time being fully occupied by the completion of the series of frescoes at the ,vatican4 ,in the spring of #adeb1 ,fra ,filippo1 accompanied by his assistant1 ,fra ,diamante1 took up his abode at ,prato1 and entered upon the most eventful and artistically the most significant period of his career4 ,as we have seen1 he still kept up his workshop in ,florence1 where his temporary presence is repeatedly testified by documentary evidence during the next few years4 ,thus1 although he began to work in the choir chapel immediately after his arrival at ,prato1 as may be seen from the entry in the ,libra delle spese in the ,archivio del ,patrimonio ecclesiastico in ,prato1 recording under date of ,may #bi1 #adeb1 the payment of fifty lire to ,fra ,diamante di ,feo da ,terranuova1 gharzone di ,fra ,filippo di ,tommaso1 his frequent absence and general dilatoriness were the cause of so much delay that the decoration of the chapel was not completed before #adfh1 a year before the master's death4 ,during this period of sixteen years ,fra ,filippo continued to be employed by the members of the ,medici family1 by the proposto ,gemignano ,inghirami1 and by many other patrons in ,prato and ,pistoja4 ,in addition to his frequent absence in ,florence1 he no doubt undertook several other journeys1 of one of which at least we have certain knowledge3 his sojourn in #adfa at ,perugia1 whither he was called to value ,bonfigli's frescoes in the ,palazzo del ,comune--an honourable task which devolved upon him as the sole survivor of the three artists chosen for it by the ,signory of ,perugia1 the other two being ,fra ,angelico1 who died in #adee1 and ,domenico ,veneziano1 whose death occurred in the spring of the very year that witnessed the completion of ,bonfigli's frescoes4 ,but quite apart from such interruptions in the execution of that superb series of frescoes at ,prato1 depicting scenes from the lives of ,st4 ,john the ,baptist and ,st4 ,stephen1 as were due to professional causes1 there was enough excitement and disturbance in the artist's private life to account at least in part for his tardiness in completing the work which constitutes his greatest claim to immortal fame4 ,for ,prato was the scene of the great romance of ,fra ,filippo's life1 by which his name has become familiar even to those who know little of1 and care less about1 his artistic achievement4 ,the abduction of the nun1 ,lucrezia ,buti1 by the amorous monk1 who was then entering upon the sixth decade of his life1 is on the whole correctly recorded by ,vasari1 and has formed the subject of many a literary romance and pictorial rendering4 ,subsequent doubts thrown upon it by such eminent critics as1 among others1 ,messrs4 ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 who maintain that the story rests upon the sole testimony of ,vasari1 and that contingent circumstances tend to create considerable doubts of ,vasari's truth1 almost succeeded in relegating the amorous friar's daring exploit into the realm of fiction1 until ,milanesi's researches established the substantial truth of the romantic story4 ,the facts1 briefly stated1 are as follows3 ,on the death of the ,florentine silk merchant1 ,francesco ,buti1 in #adej1 his son1 ,antonio1 found himself charged with the responsibility of a not too profitable business1 and a large family of twelve brothers and sisters4 ,the eldest of these sisters1 ,margherita1 was married off to ,antonio ,doffi in #adea1 and in the same year two other sisters1 ,spinetta1 born #adcd1 and ,lucrezia1 born #adce1 were placed with the nuns of ,sta4 ,margherita at ,prato1 ,antonio paying the required fee of fifty florins for each of them4 ,needless to say1 the two girls thus committed to a living tomb at the very time when life beckoned to them with all its joys and seductions1 were not consulted in this matter any more than was ,fra ,filippo when1 as a mere child1 he had to enter the establishment of the ,carmelites in ,florence4 ,presumably the two lively1 handsome girls had no more vocation for the cloistral life than the pleasure-loving friar--which circumstance may be pleaded in mitigation of the scandalous offence of which they subsequently became guilty4 ,whether ,fra ,filippo had become acquainted with the ,buti maidens before they entered the nunnery of ,sta4 ,margherita1 which was then in charge of the ,abbess ,bartolommea de' ,bovacchiesi1 it is impossible to say4 ,certain it is1 on the other hand1 that the ,madonna of the ,pitti tondo1 painted in #adeb1 already bears the features of the model who1 in other pictures1 has been identified as ,lucrezia ,buti4 ,from this it may be assumed that ,fra ,filippo1 who came to ,prato only a year after the two sisters1 and who lived there in a house opposite the convent of ,sta4 ,margherita1 must have known ,lucrezia at least four years before she sat to him for the ,madonna della ,cintola in #adef1 the year of her abduction4 ,it is quite possible that the love-struck monk used the influence of his powerful protectors to secure his appointment as chaplain of ,sta4 ,margherita1 so as to facilitate intercourse with the object of his affection and desire4 ,nor did his by no means untainted reputation and the papal stigma 7qui plurima et nefanda scelera perpetravit7 stand in the way of the coveted post being actually conferred upon him in the year #adef4 ,in the same year1 as soon as he had entered upon his new duties1 the ,abbess of ,sta4 ,margherita commissioned the new chaplain to paint an altarpiece for the high altar of the convent church4 ,this afforded ,fra ,filippo a welcome opportunity for carrying out what must have been a carefully and cunningly devised scheme4 ,he begged the ,abbess to allow ,lucrezia ,buti1 who was exceedingly beautiful and graceful1 to sit for the head of the ,madonna2 and1 having obtained this favour1 presumably did not fail to advance his cause4 ,his clerical habit and the great difference of age between the monk and the nun--he was then about fifty1 and ,lucrezia twenty-one--may have helped to disarm suspicion3 they did not prevent the young nun from taking the fatal step which was bound to bring disgrace and dishonour upon her2 which1 indeed1 was accounted a crime1 for ,lucrezia was not1 as ,vasari has it1 either a novice or a boarder1 but one of the eight choral and professed nuns who formed the establishment of ,santa ,margherita4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vi4--,,the ,,virgin ,,and ,,child 7,in the ,pitti ,palace1 ,florence7 ,painted at ,prato1 soon after the abduction of ,lucrezia ,buti by the amorous monk1 the central group of this tondo may be reasonably assumed to portray ,lucrezia and ,filippo ,lippi4 ,the incidents in the background1 which have been a source of inspiration for many succeeding artists1 including ,raphael himself1 who echoes the figure of the basket-carrying woman in his ,incendio del ,borgo1 depict the birth of ,mary1 and the meeting of ,st4 ,anne and ,joachim4 ,the motif of the ,birth of the ,virgin is in reality a convenient excuse for the painting of a charmingly rendered scene of ,florentine domestic life4 ,the distribution of light and the harmonising of the strong colour-notes are managed with consummate skill4 ,the plot came to a successful issue on the #ast of ,may #adef1 during the celebration of the feast of the ,madonna della ,cintola--,our ,lady of the ,girdle4 ,on that day it was the custom to exhibit at the ,cathedral a sacred relic1 purporting to be the miraculous girdle given to ,st4 ,thomas by the ,virgin1 who appeared to him after her death4 ,that day was one of the rare occasions when the nuns of ,sta4 ,margherita left the precincts of their convent to join the worshippers in the ,duomo4 ,on ,may #a1 #adef1 there were eight nuns who set out to pray before the sacred girdle--but seven only returned to the convent4 ,lucrezia ,buti had been carried off by her monkish lover to his house2 and if any attempts were made to induce her to return1 either to ,sta4 ,margherita1 or to her relatives in ,florence1 she lent a deaf ear to these appeals4 ,vasari relates that the father of ,lucrezia was so grievously afflicted thereat1 that he never more recovered his cheerfulness1 and made every possible effort to regain his child4 ,this1 of course1 is pure invention1 since ,francesco ,buti had been mouldering in his grave for six years when the abduction took place4 ,and now we come to the most amazing chapter of this fifteenth-century romance4 ,fra ,filippo ,lippi1 the monk who had broken his vow and was openly living at ,prato with the equally guilty nun1 actually continued to administer to the spiritual welfare of the nuns of the convent that had been so irretrievably disgraced by his conduct6 ,that his misdeed was allowed to pass unpunished and uncensured1 may have encouraged others to follow his and ,lucrezia's example4 ,whether or not the ,carmelite was instrumental in helping the other nuns to escape1 the fact remains that before long ,spinetta ,buti had joined her sister in ,filippo's house1 whilst three other nuns deserted the convent to live in illicit union with their lovers4 ,the unfortunate ,abbess1 ,bartolommea de' ,bovacchiesi1 whose portrait is to be seen as kneeling donor in the so-called ,madonna della ,cintola1 now in the ,municipal ,palace at ,prato1 died of shame and grief before the year came to a close4 ,the remote resemblance of the figure of ,st4 ,margaret1 on the extreme left of that picture1 to ,lucrezia ,buti as she appears in authentic works by the master1 in addition to the fact that the ,madonna della ,cintola was originally in the church of ,sta4 ,margherita1 has given colour to the theory that this is the very altarpiece which figures so prominently in the chief romance of ,filippo ,lippi's life4 ,the same claim has been advanced for the ,nativity 7,no4 #acdc7 at the ,louvre4 ,much as one would like to identify either the one or the other with the picture referred to by the chroniclers1 if only for the sentimental interest that would be attached to it1 neither of the two can be accepted as authentic works by our artist4 ,the best recent expert opinion has ascribed the ,paris panel in turn to ,fra ,diamante1 ,pesellino1 ,stefano da ,zevio1 and ,baldovinetti1 agreeing only on the one point1 that it cannot be by ,fra ,filippo4 ,as regards the ,madonna della ,cintola1 critical analysis of the picture can only lead to the conviction that from beginning to end it is inferior bottega work1 with never a trace of the master's own brush1 although it may well be based on a design by ,fra ,filippo4 ,it is true1 the time that elapsed between the placing of the commission for the ,sta4 ,margherita altarpiece and the abduction of ,lucrezia was so short1 that the picture may have been only just begun and left to be finished by some other inferior painter4 ,on the other hand1 there is no reason for this assumption1 since ,filippo ,lippo continued to be connected with the convent in his capacity of chaplain4 ,in the year following that memorable feast of the ,sacred ,girdle1 ,lucrezia presented the friar with a son1 who was to become known to fame as ,filippino ,lippi4 ,the house in which he was born bears a commemorative inscription put up by the citizens of ,prato in #ahfi3 ,,filippo ,,lippi ,,compr ,e ,,abit ,,questa ,,casa ,,quando ,,coloriva ,,gli ,,stupendi ,,affreschi ,,del ,,duomo ,e ,,qu ,,nacque ,,nel ,,mcccclix ,,filippino ,,precursore ,,di ,,raffaello ,filippo ,lippi bought and inhabited this house when he painted the stupendous frescoes of the ,cathedral1 and here was born in #adei 7it should read #adeg7 ,filippino1 the precursor of ,raphael4 ,if proof were needed that the escape of the other nuns was closely connected with the abduction of ,lucrezia1 it may be found in the fact that1 when ,lucrezia1 for some unknown reason1 found it advisable to feign repentance and to return to the convent of ,sta4 ,margherita at the end of #adeh1 all the other fugitives followed her example4 ,they had to submit to the formality of twelve months' probation before they took the veil again1 in a solemn ceremony1 in ,december #adei4 ,perhaps the reason for ,lucrezia's return is not altogether dissociated from the financial troubles that beset her lover1 as we have seen1 about the time of ,filippino's birth4 ,the sincerity of her renewed vow of chastity is to be gathered not only from the fact that in #adfe she presented ,fra ,filippo with another child--a daughter1 who was given the name ,alessandra--but in the clear indictment set forth by an anonymous accuser in a tamburazione under date of ,may #h1 #adfa4 ,in this tamburazione1 or secret accusation1 addressed to the officers of the night and monasteries of the city of ,florence1 a pretty state of affairs is revealed at the convent of ,sta4 ,margherita1 which has been frequented and continues to be frequented by ,ser ,piero d',antonio di ,ser ,vannozzo1 who has begot a male child in the said convent4444 ,and if you wish to find him1 you will find him every day in the convent1 together with another man called frate ,filippo4 ,the latter excuses himself by saying that he is the chaplain1 whilst the former says he is the procurator4 ,and the said frate ,filippo has had a male child by one called ,spinetta4 ,and he has in his house the said child1 who is grown up and is called ,filippino4 ,the anonymous accuser1 of course1 was mistaken in mentioning ,spinetta1 instead of her sister1 as the mother of ,filippino1 who in his will expressly refers to domine ,lucretie ejus delicte matris et filie olim ,francisci de ,butis de ,florentia1 and thus removes every possible doubt as to his parentage4 ,the mistake finds an easy explanation in the fact that both the sisters were for some time under ,fra ,filippo's roof4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vii4--,,the ,,virgin ,,and ,,child ,,with ,,two ,,angels 7,in the ,uffizi ,gallery1 ,florence7 ,painted for the chapel in ,cosimo de' ,medici's palace1 this picture was transferred to the ,uffizi ,gallery from the ,royal store-rooms in #aggf4 ,more1 perhaps1 than in any other work by the master1 the whole arrangement of the picture and the management of the planes reveal the influence of the relief sculpture by ,donatello and his followers4 ,it is particularly akin in spirit to the art of ,rossellino4 ,the landscape seen through a window opening behind the heads of the ,madonna and the ,infant ,saviour1 as well as the laughing angel in the foreground1 are entirely new conceptions in ,florentine painting4 ,that the picture must have been much admired by ,filippo ,lippi's contemporaries is proved by the innumerable slightly modified versions of it which were produced by the next generation of ,florentine painters4 ,what was the end of ,lippi's romance8 ,there are no contemporary records to throw clear light upon it4 ,in ,milanesi's edition of ,vasari it is stated that ,pope ,eugene granted the monk a special dispensation to marry ,lucrezia4 ,if any such dispensation ever was granted1 it must have been by ,pius ,,ii41 and not by ,eugene4 ,under any circumstances1 it seems very improbable that ,fra ,filippo1 as we learn from the same source1 should have refused to avail himself of this permission to legalise his union1 because he preferred to continue living the sort of life that pleased him4 ,he was then a man of considerable age1 near the end of his life1 and past the times for sowing his wild oats4 ,the papal dispensation1 if actually given1 must have been sought for1 in which case ,filippo would presumably have availed himself of it2 or1 if granted on the ,pope's own initiative1 could not have been lightly set aside by a humble member of the ,church1 who was largely dependent on the emoluments accruing from his clerical appointments4 ,the mere fact that ,lucrezia's features are to be recognised in the friar's latest works1 the frescoes in the ,cathedral of ,spoleto1 tends to prove that the old man's affection was not transferred to different quarters2 and ,vasari's suggestion that his death was due to the libertinism of his conduct1 which led to his being poisoned by certain relatives of a woman with whom he had become entangled1 may be dismissed as a fable4 ,vasari is at fault again in ascribing the commission for the decoration of the chapel in the ,church of ,our ,lady at ,spoleto1 ,fra ,filippo's last important work1 to the influence of ,cosimo de' ,medici4 ,fra ,filippo went to ,spoleto in #adfg1 and ,cosimo had been buried in #adfd4 ,if any member of the ,medici family had acted as mediator1 it must have been ,piero1 who had always been a patron and protector of our artist4 ,of the four frescoes at ,spoleto illustrating the ,life of the ,virgin1 only the ,coronation and the ,annunciation are1 so far as one can judge in their much restored condition1 from the master's own hand4 ,the ,death of the ,virgin and the ,nativity1 though undoubtedly designed by him1 are vastly inferior in execution1 and are almost entirely the work of his assistant1 ,fra ,diamante1 who accompanied him to ,spoleto1 and stayed there several months after his master's death to complete the unfinished work4 ,fra ,filippo died on the #ith of ,october #adfi1 and left his son ,filippino under the guardianship of ,fra ,diamante4 ,he was buried in the church which had witnessed his last labours4 ,the esteem in which he was held by those who knew how to appreciate his art--and among them1 surely1 the ,medici must be placed at the top--found expression in the rivalry between ,florence and ,spoleto over his remains4 ,when ,lorenzo the ,magnificent1 some years after the great ,carmelite's death1 passed through ,spoleto as ambassador of the ,florentine ,commonwealth1 he demanded ,fra ,filippo's body from the ,spoletans1 for re-interment in the ,duomo of ,florence4 ,the ,spoletans' reply is characteristic of the spirit of the age3 they begged to be left in possession of the remains of the master1 since they were so poorly provided with distinguished men1 whereas ,florence had enough and to spare4 ,lorenzo must have been touched by a request presented in such flattering terms1 for he not only allowed ,filippo ,lippi's body to remain in its original resting-place1 but he commissioned from ,filippino ,lippi1 the inheritor of the monk's artistic genius1 a marble tomb1 on which can be seen to this day the jovial features of the master thus honoured1 the arms of ,lorenzo and of the ,lippi1 and the commemorative inscription composed by the great humanist1 ,angelo ,poliziano4 ,,conditvs ,,hic ,,ego ,,svm ,,pictvre ,,fama ,,philippvs ,,nvlli ,,ignota ,,me ,,est ,,gratia ,,mira ,,manvs2 ,,artificis ,,potvi ,,digitis ,,animare ,,colores ,,sperataqve ,,animos ,,fallere ,,voce ,,div3 ,,ipsa ,,meis ,,stvpvit ,,natvra ,,expressa ,,figvris ,,meqve ,,svis ,,fassa ,,est ,,artibvs ,,esse ,,parem4 ,,marmoreo ,,tvmvlo ,,medices ,,lavrentivs ,,hic ,,me ,,condidit1 ,,ante ,,hvmili ,,pvlvere ,,tectvs ,,eram4 ,,iv ,it is not within the scope of this brief sketch of the life and art of ,fra ,filippo ,lippi to enter into a detailed critical discussion of his extant works4 ,i am not here concerned with questions of debatable attributions1 or with the share that ,fra ,diamante and other assistants or pupils may have had in the execution of works that pass generally under his name4 ,all that can here be attempted is1 to gather from the cumulative evidence of the pictures that are unquestionably by the master's own hand1 the real significance of his great achievement and the place he occupies in the evolution of ,italian art4 ,in the progress of his style from the early ,nativities to the ,prato frescoes is reflected the whole course of ,early ,renaissance art from ,gothic awkwardness to full freedom4 ,of course1 ,fra ,filippo lived in a period of transition and of passionate striving for expression2 and to a certain extent every artist is the product of the spirit of his time4 ,the tendencies which resulted in the full blossoming of ,renaissance art were at work1 and would1 no doubt1 have conquered in the end1 even if ,filippo ,lippi had never existed4 ,nevertheless1 he was one of the greatest initiators of the ,renaissance in painting2 and it is his peculiar merit that1 at a period of artistic pupilage1 when every painter's training was directed towards the close assimilation of his particular master's peculiarities1 and when progress consisted largely in the grafting of some personal note or other on to the inherited tradition1 ,fra ,filippo not only liberated himself from the narrow confines of his early training by his readiness to benefit from the example of any native or foreign master who had added some new word to the language of art1 but he was also ever ready to learn direct from the greatest source of artistic inspiration--from ,nature4 ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,viii4--,,the ,,virgin ,,and ,,child1 ,,with ,,angels ,,and ,,two ,,abbots 7,in the ,louvre1 ,paris7 ,this altarpiece was commissioned in #adcg by the ,company of ,orsanmichele for the ,barbadori ,chapel in ,santo ,spirito4 ,it is the picture referred to by ,domenico ,veneziano in a letter to ,piero de' ,medici1 dated ,april #a1 #adch1 in which he says that by working day and night ,fra ,filippo could not finish it within five years1 which was probably a correct estimate of the time actually taken4 ,even in its present state of deterioration this stately altarpiece1 which shows how much ,filippo had learnt from the study of ,masaccio's ,carmine frescoes1 justifies the high praise bestowed upon it by ,vasari4 ,the two figures kneeling before the steps of the throne are ,st4 ,augustine on the right1 and ,st4 ,fredianus on the left4 ,from his earliest beginnings1 which rather suggest illuminated miniatures on a large scale1 we see him grow step by step1 acquire knowledge of perspective1 of design1 of colour harmonies1 of the effect of light and atmosphere1 of movement4 ,we find him initiating advance in many directions4 ,the circular composition1 which was scarcely known before his days1 is carried by him to such perfection1 that it becomes the favourite device of most later ,florentine painters4 ,he is the first ,florentine who shows a real appreciation of the beauty of ,nature1 who allows real daylight to enter into his pictures1 and who studies reflections4 ,the ,florentine ,school was never a school of painters in the strict sense of the word1 like the ,venetian ,school4 ,its work was always based on linear design1 upon which colour was superadded--an afterthought1 as it were4 ,the ,florentine did not think in terms of colour4 ,but ,fra ,filippo1 without abandoning the essentially ,florentine insistence on linear design1 came nearer the true pictorial conception than any of his contemporaries or successors4 ,in his first ,nativity at the ,florentine ,academy he gives not the slightest hint of the astounding development his art was to undergo before he left ,florence for ,prato4 ,the colour is purely localised1 like the flat tones of the ,gothic miniaturists in whose school he had been trained4 ,the ,madonna looks as if she were cut out and pasted on to the landscape4 ,what a step from its hard delineation to the morbidezza1 and the cool shimmering tones and all-pervading sense of atmosphere in his ,coronation of the ,virgin1 which1 in this respect1 remains a unique achievement in ,florentine art4 ,both his ,florentine ,nativities are as awkward and clumsy in design as could be4 ,lopped-off figures of praying monks are squeezed into the extreme corners2 the landscape background is seen in steep perspective1 almost as in a bird's-eye view1 and has no relation to the figures in the foreground2 the perspective and the whole arrangement of the ruined building in the one are childish4 ,and a few years later he had arrived at the noble architectonic design of the ,virgin ,enthroned1 at the ,louvre1 in which1 notwithstanding here and there a reminiscence of ,gothic awkwardness1 the figure of the angel on the left foreshadows the easy grace of similarly poised figures in ,andrea del ,sarto's art4 ,again and again ,fra ,filippo acts as initiator and sets the fashion for whole generations of artists4 ,he is one of the first to experiment with devices for producing the illusion of depth1 either by the interpolation1 between the foreground and the background figures1 of architectural elements1 as in the ,louvre ,madonna--the idea had already served ,donatello in the sister-art of sculpture--or by the skilful disposition and lighting of the subsidiary figures in the background1 as in the episodes from the life of ,st4 ,anne1 which form the setting to the adorable ,madonna and ,child of the ,pitti tondo4 ,if ,michelangelo's nude athletes in the background of his ,holy ,family tondo are based upon the similar figures in ,luca ,signorelli's circular ,madonna and ,child at the ,uffizi1 ,signorelli himself clearly derived from ,filippo ,lippi the use of the background figures1 one of whom turns his back to the spectator just like the women on the extreme right of ,lippi's tondo1 for the purpose of enhancing the sense of depth and space4 ,this woman with the boy clinging to the folds of her dress1 as well as the one by whom she is preceded--a rapidly moving figure1 with clinging diaphanous garments and with a basket poised on her head--will be found again and again during the next half-century of ,florentine art1 just as the ,uffizi ,madonna adoring the ,divine ,child1 who is supported by two boy-angels1 became the prototype of a long succession of similar pictures4 ,in the dancing ,salome of the ,prato frescoes1 again1 we have the forerunner of the type of figure and movement that received its highest development in the art of ,botticelli1 ,filippo ,lippi's greatest pupil4 ,every phase of the triumphant progress of ,renaissance art finds an echo in ,filippo ,lippi's painting4 ,masaccio helped him to shake off ,gothic awkwardness and to achieve a certain degree of statuesque dignity4 ,from ,gentile da ,fabriano he took the delight in gay1 festive attire and sumptuous pageantry1 which is clearly expressed in ,sir ,frederick ,cook's tondo1 and in a modified form in the ,academy ,coronation4 ,pier dei ,franceschi's great conquest of the realm of light and air did no more fail to leave its mark upon the ,carmelite's art1 than did ,paolo ,uccello's discoveries in the science of perspective4 ,the classic thrones of his ,madonnas and the architectural backgrounds of some of his pictures proclaim his enthusiasm for the forms and decorative details of the ,renaissance churches and palaces that were then rising1 under the influence of the new learning1 in every part of ,florence4 ,nor is it possible to over-estimate the prodigious effect produced upon the artist-monk's receptive mind by his study of the works of ,donatello4 ,the ,uffizi ,madonna is in reality a relief by ,donatello or one of his followers translated into paint4 ,take any photographic reproduction of that picture1 and examine the head of the roguishly smiling angel1 the arms of the ,infant ,saviour and of the ,madonna1 and the way the whole group is set against the window-frame4 ,the illusion is extraordinary4 ,if it were not for the landscape seen through the opening in the background and the transparent folds of the veil over the ,virgin's head1 it would be pardonable to mistake the picture thus reduced to black and white for a bas-relief of the ,donatello ,school4 ,thus1 with the shrewd intelligence of which his features in the auto-portrait introduced into the ,coronation are so eloquent1 ,fra ,filippo knew how to take hints and suggestions from the art of all his great contemporaries4 ,but he applied the same keen intelligence to the study of the living world around him4 ,the knowledge imparted to him by other masters was thus allowed to filter through his personal observation of ,nature4 ,and whilst it is possible to trace in his work the most varied artistic influences1 his own personality was never eclipsed or obscured4 ,always ready to learn and to assimilate new principles1 he never stooped to the imitation of mere mannerisms4 ,from any such inclination he was saved by his temperament1 his human sympathy1 his artistic curiosity4 ,only to his earliest ,madonnas cling reminiscences of ,giottesque types and formulas4 ,even before he had reached full maturity1 the typical had become ousted by the individual4 ,and in this respect he was again an initiator in ,florentine art4 ,he was one of the first painters of his school who makes us feel that almost every character in his pictures is the result of personal observation--is practically a portrait4 ,he is the first true genre painter of his school4 ,benozzo ,gozzoli1 it is true1 went far beyond him as a pictorial raconteur of ,florentine fifteenth-century life2 but the origin of ,benozzo's genre-like treatment of scriptural incidents1 which makes his frescoes at ,pisa and ,san ,gimignano such precious documents1 is to be found in ,fra ,filippo ,lippi4 ,the ,prato frescoes introduce several delicious incidents of this nature1 like the leave-taking of ,st4 ,john from his parents1 or the child-birth scene in the episode in the life of ,st4 ,stephen4 ,but they are not absent either from his altarpieces4 ,the exquisitely recorded happenings in the house of ,st4 ,anne1 which form the background of the ,pitti ,madonna and ,child1 are pure genre-painting1 and are1 moreover1 a daring departure from all the earlier conventions which ruled the rendering of this favourite subject4 ,the earlier ,coronation of the ,virgin shows something of the same tendency in the charming group of a female saint and two children in front of the kneeling monk4 ,the saint1 like the ,virgin ,mary herself1 is just an elegantly attired ,florentine lady of the period4 ,the very angels surrounding the throne of the ,heavenly ,father are humanised1 as it were1 by being divested of their wings4 ,even in the stately and formal ,virgin ,enthroned1 at the ,louvre1 ,fra ,filippo could not resist the temptation to introduce a roguish urchin on each side peeping over the balustrade1 and thus transferring the scene from the heavenly region to this earth4 ,fra ,filippo loved the world in which he found so much beauty4 ,for all that1 his art reveals neither sensuality nor worldliness4 ,he was indeed1 as ,mr4 ,berenson so happily describes him1 a genre-painter1 whose genre was that of the soul1 as that of others was of the body4 ,but he expressed the soul through the body4 ,as ,m4 ,andr ,maurel has it3 ,before painting faces1 he looked at them1 which was a new thing4444 ,he was a great painter1 because he was a man4 ,the plates are printed by ,,bemrose ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,derby and ,london ,the text at the ,,ballantyne ,,press1 ,edinburgh ,,footnotes3 #a ,the ,florentine ,painters of the ,renaissance1 by ,bernhard ,berenson 7,g4 ,p4 ,putnam's ,sons74 #b ,he retained this post until ,july #adeb4 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,table of ,contents added by ,transcriber4