The realm of "stealing skills": creating oneself from classics | Yihai Shizhen

How did the talented painter Lippi learn from others and still have his own creativity?

Written by | Zhang Yi

In the last issue (The Most Beautiful Madonna: The Legendary Creation of a Prodigal Genius | Art Sea Shizhen), we admired a painting full of humanistic spirit and human warmth, "Madonna of the Uffizi", which was created by the prodigal genius Lippi and influenced later painters. Lippi was also influenced by many masters in his early years and "stole the skills" to paint many Madonna. So, how did he learn from many masters and have his own creativity?

1 Early Realist Works: Following the Masaccio Style Lippi's Coronation of the Virgin (Figure 1), the main picture is divided into three parts, each with a semicircle at the top. This composition should continue the traditional composition of similar themes in medieval Florentine paintings (Figures 1a and 1b), especially Figure 1a, which can be said to have directly influenced Lippi's creation. On the far side of Lippi's painting in Figure 1 are Sant Ambrogio (left) and St. John the Baptist (right). Their solid body shape, simple clothing and facial expressions are obviously influenced by Nanni di Banco's (c. 1384-1421) sculpture "Coronation of the Four Saints" in the Church of San Michele in Florence and the shapes of the saints in Masaccio's "Paying Taxes" (Figures 5e and 5f). Although it has been mentioned above that Lippi had studied Masaccio's painting method seriously, it must be said that as a painter with a strong ability to learn from others, Lippi had a precise grasp of the works of contemporary Florentine sculptors. For example, the second figure on the left of the Coronation of the Four Saints in Figure 1f, especially the figure of him lifting the robe he was wearing with his right hand, was painted by Lippi in another work called Barbadori Altarpiece (Figure 2), that is, the image of the second angel on the left in the painting. Another early work of Lippi, "Madonna and Child on the Throne with Saints" (Figure 3) in the Uffizi Museum in Florence, also shows the influence of Nani di Banco and Masaccio's creative style on Lippi.

Figure 1. Filippo Lippi, "Coronation of the Virgin", tempera on wood, painted between 1441 and 1447, 220 cm high and 287 cm wide, now on display at the Uffizi Gallery | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 1a. Don Lorezon Monaco, Coronation of the Virgin, painted in 1414, 450 cm high, 360 cm wide, now on display in the Uffizi Gallery | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 1b. Giovanni da S. Stefano a Ponte, "Coronation of the Virgin and Saints", tempera on wood, painted between 1420 and 1430, 209 cm high and 215.5 cm wide, now on display in the Academy Gallery in Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 1e. Masaccio, "Paying Taxes", fresco, painted between 1425 and 1428, 247 cm wide and 597 cm high, now on display in the Brancacci Chapel in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 1f. Nani di Banco, The Coronation of the Four Saints, marble sculpture, made between 1414 and 1416, the statue is 203 cm high, and is now on display in the Church of San Michele in Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 2. Filippo Lippi, "Barbara Altarpiece", tempera on wood, painted between 1437 and 1438, 208 cm high and 244 cm wide, now on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 3. Lippi, "Madonna and Child on the Throne with Saints", tempera on wood, painted around 1445, 196 cm high and 196 cm wide, now on display in the Uffizi Museum in Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

Who is the author of "Coronation of the Virgin"? Of course, we would think it was the painter Lippi today, but what about the people in the early Renaissance? Figure 1c shows the lower right corner of the whole painting. The person kneeling on the right side is the sponsor of this painting. There is a curved ribbon in front of him with the words ISTE PERFECIT OPUS (person who completed the work) written on it. Obviously, this investor believed that he was the author of the painting, which should be a conventional concept at the time. But Lippi obviously disagreed with this view. He not only painted himself into the left side of the work (Figure 1d). At the bottom of the center of the picture, which is now covered by the frame, Lippi also left his signature.

Figure 1c. Filippo Lippi, signature and portrait, detail of Coronation of the Virgin | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 1d. Filippo Lippi, Self-portrait, detail from Coronation of the Virgin | Image source: Wikipedia

Another signed painting of Lippi is Adoration in the Forest (Figure 1g). The painter’s signature is on the axe handle of St. John the Baptist in the lower left corner of the work. This painting was sponsored by the Medici family. In the early Renaissance, they allowed Lippi to leave his signature on the painting, which should be regarded as a recognition of the painter’s talent and work. Perhaps it is these little details left in history that made people in later generations willing to regard the Medici family as the most important promoter of Renaissance art hundreds of years later.

Figure 1g. Filippo Lippi, Adoration in the Forest, oil on wood, painted in 1459, 129.5 cm, 118.5 cm wide, now on display at the Berlin Gallery (Gemäldegalerie) | Image source: Wikipedia

Although the Coronation of the Virgin shown in Figure 1 is very famous for various reasons, I believe that among the works of the same theme painted by Lippi, the Coronation of the Virgin ceiling painting in the Duomo di Spoleto (Figure 1h) should be a more mature and attractive work. Its dazzling colors give people a strong visual impact. When you look up at this work, you will fully feel the artistic appeal and tension of Lippi's paintings.

Figure 1. Filippo Lippi, "Coronation of the Virgin", fresco, painted between 1465 and 1467, Spoleto Cathedral | Image source: Wikipedia

At the end of this section, we introduce a painting of the Virgin and Child from the early period of Lippi's painting career (Figure 4). Although the characters in the work have the realistic style of Vasaccio, the large area of ​​gold in the background is obviously still a continuation of medieval iconography. Lippi processed the flattened gold in traditional iconography and painted it in the form of a drapery, which enhanced the realistic tendency of the work. The dark background behind the drapery plus plants give people an elegant sense of decoration, and also highlight the golden halo on the heads of the Virgin and the Child. On the blue robe of the Virgin, we can see a dazzling golden star, which should represent the star representing the Virgin, the Star of the Sea. This work is obviously a combination of realism developed in the early Renaissance and medieval icon art.

Figure 4. Filippo Lippi, "Madonna and Child", painted with tempera and real gold on wood, about 1446-1447, 75.5 cm high and 52.3 cm wide; now on display at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, USA | Image source: Wikipedia

2 Works from the mature period: a fusion of realism and gorgeous decorative style 2.1 The Adoration of the Three Kings

This circular painting of Adoration of the Kings (Figure 5) was once a collection of the Medici family. When Lorenzo the Magnificent died in 1492, this work was included in the inventory of the Medici Palace's property. It should have been first started by Fra Angelico, but it was not completed due to the painter's death. Current technical test results show that Lippi should be the main painter of this work. Most of the characters and landscapes on the picture, except for the Virgin Mary, were painted by Lippi. Because the work took a long time to complete and changed hands several times during the painting process, we can also see some traces of other assistants on the picture. The peacock in the upper center of the painting, the goshawk holding the pheasant, and the dog in the middle of the bottom were painted by Benozzo Gozzoli around 1460. The peacock and the goshawk are probably related to the fact that Piero and Giovanni, the two sons of Cosimo the Elder, liked to use these two flying birds as their emblems. The only thing that is a little lacking in the work is the thatched hut in the center right of the painting, which seems a little too large.

Figure 5. Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi, Adoration of the Kings, tempera on wood, completed around 1460, 137.3 cm in diameter, now on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. | Image source: Wikipedia

In addition, there are two details worth noting: the extremely eye-catching peacock in the upper center of the painting is the incarnation of Juno, the queen of heaven in ancient Roman mythology. It means eternal life in ancient Roman culture, and in the early Christian culture of the Roman Empire, it was given the meaning of human salvation through the birth of Christ; another point worth noting is that the way the flowers and plants at the bottom of the painting are naturally reminiscent of the composition art on carpets from the Netherlands in Europe. This method of obtaining artistic design inspiration from carpets can also be seen in the works of Botticelli and others.

In the picture, the three kings from the East are presenting gifts to the newly born Jesus in the arms of the Virgin Mary (Figure 5a). Standing next to the Virgin is Saint Joseph. Behind these characters are bulls, donkeys, animal troughs, and straw sheds that often appear in scenes depicting the Nativity of Jesus. Behind the three kings on the left side of the picture, there are a large number of followers (Figure 5b). This painting also combines the traditional Adoration of the Shepherds at the time of Jesus' birth. We can see three ragged people behind Saint Joseph and above his head. They are the shepherds who came to congratulate Jesus' birth under the guidance of angels as described in Chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke (Figure 5a). The Adoration of the Shepherds is usually a separate biblical art theme (Figure 5c), but in this work it is painted together in "The Adoration of the Three Kings".

Figure 5a. Part of "The Worship of the Three Kings" | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 5b. Part of "The Worship of the Three Kings" | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 5c. Ghirlandaio, Adoration of the Shepherds, tempera on wood, 1485, height 167 cm, width 167 cm, now on display in Santa Trinita, Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

This painting took quite a long time to complete and was painted by several masters, so the whole picture shows different artistic styles. Although the main tone of the picture has the style and characteristics of International Gothic, including the overall composition design, the gorgeous clothes and lines of the characters; the characters, buildings and scenery are painted in a realistic style and use scientific methods such as perspective techniques. Looking at the whole painting, various artistic styles are perfectly and harmoniously integrated, which can be said to be the crystallization of Florentine painting art in the era of Cosimo the Elder.

The Adoration of the Kings by Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi is a painting that connects the past and the future. Its creativity and the treatment of many characters are derived from the same theme paintings painted by earlier painters Gentile da Fabriano and Domenico Veneziano in Florence (Figure 5d and Figure 5e). In the early 1460s, Benozzo Gozzoli, a student of Angelico, further refined many of the creative ideas in this work and painted a series of murals in the Chapel of the Magi in the Medici Palace, The Pilgrimage (Figure 5f); and Botticelli, Lippi's best student, drew nourishment from this work and created several famous Adoration of the Kings paintings (Figure 5g).

Figure 5d. Fabriano, The Adoration of the Kings, tempera on wood, painted in 1423, 301.5 cm high and 283 cm wide with frame, now on display in the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 5e. Domenico Veneziano, Adoration of the Kings, oil on wood, painted around 1439, 84 cm in diameter; now on display at the Berlin Gallery in Germany | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 5f. Benozzo Gozzoli, The Pilgrimage, fresco, painted between 1459 and 1462, now on display in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 5g. Botticelli, The Adoration of the Kings, tempera on wood, painted between 1470 and 1475, diameter 130.8 cm; now on display at the National Gallery, London | Image source: Wikipedia

2.2 Saint Augustine’s Vision

This painting depicts the legend of St. Augustine (354-430), an important figure in early Christianity (Figure 6). It is said that Augustine, who was the bishop of Sibo in North Africa at the time, gradually entered a state of meditation and fantasy while taking a walk one day and trying to think about the theory of the Holy Trinity. He seemed to see an angel in the form of a boy digging a hole on the beach, and then using shells as tools to continuously pour water into the sand hole, hoping that the water would fill it up; after seeing this, Augustine told the boy that this was an impossible task, but the boy replied: "The difficulty of what I do is not more difficult than the problem you are meditating on." The legendary story of the Christian world depicted by the painter with his brush asks us an ancient and eternal philosophical question: Can we use our human wisdom to explore the ultimate truth of the universe? Through this painting, we can more or less appreciate an important historical phenomenon, that is, the most profound philosophical thoughts of the Italian Renaissance were usually not written on paper like philosophical books, but were expressed in various forms in the visual art creations of the time. The most typical examples should be Michelangelo's ceiling painting "The Creation of the World" and the large altar mural "The Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel. This small painting by Lippi in the Hermitage Museum showed the tendency to use painting for philosophical thinking more than half a century before Michelangelo.

Figure 6. Filippo Lippi, The Vision of St. Augustine, tempera on wood, created around 1460, 28 cm high, 51.5 cm wide, now on display at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia | Image source: Wikipedia

4.3 Herod's Banquet

This painting (Figure 7) is based on verses 1-12 of chapter 14 of the Gospel of Matthew and verses 14-29 of chapter 6 of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Bible. It depicts the story of the suffering of St. John the Baptist, who once baptized Jesus. John the Baptist was arrested and imprisoned because he pointed out the mistakes of the Jewish ruler Herod Antipas during his preaching, but the latter could not make up his mind to kill him because of his concern for the reputation of St. John the Baptist. At the birthday party of Herod Antipas, his daughter Salome danced for him. Herod Antipas was very happy after watching the dance and promised to reward Salome with anything she wanted. At the instigation of her mother Herodias, Salome asked for the head of St. John the Baptist. Herod Antipas took this opportunity to send someone to kill John and put his head on a plate and gave it to Salome. The middle part of the picture shows Salome dancing, the left side depicts her asking her father to kill St. John the Baptist and get his head, while the right side of the picture shows Salome presenting the head of St. John on a plate to her mother.

Figure 7. Filippo Lippi, "Herod's Banquet", fresco with later surface treatment, painted between 1452 and 1465, now on display in the Cathedral of Prato, Italy | Image source: Wikipedia

Today, this painting seems to have lost much of its former glory. Lippi used a technique popular in the Middle Ages to paint this painting. He first painted a wet fresco as the base of the painting. After the wall was dried, he used tempera and gilding techniques to further process the surface to create its unique gorgeous effect. However, this treatment of the wall after drying is easy to fade because it is only painted on the surface of the wall. Today, we can hardly see any traces.

The dancing Salome in the painting (Figure 7a) can be regarded as a classic in art history. This image undoubtedly transcends the times, and her dancing posture and clothing have had a huge impact on many subsequent paintings.

Figure 7a. Filippo Lippi, Salome’s Dance, detail from Herod’s Banquet | Image source: Wikipedia

2.4 Bartolini Cyclops

Lippi's "The Life of the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne" (Figure 8), also known as the Bartolini Tondo, is one of the most creative Madonnas in the early Renaissance. The picture has a strong sense of depth. The front part shows the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus sitting on the throne. The child Jesus on the Virgin's lap is taking the fruit from the pomegranate in the Virgin's hand. In traditional Christian paintings, the red juice of the pomegranate symbolizes that Jesus will shed blood and suffer for mankind in the future; and because she foresaw the future fate of her child, we can see a slightly sad expression on the face of the Virgin. The revolutionary nature of this painting is mainly reflected in the treatment of the depth of the picture behind the Virgin. Unlike traditional icon paintings, Lippi depicted two important episodes in the life of Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin, behind the Virgin: the scene of Saint Anne meeting her husband Joachim on the stairs in the upper right corner of the picture; and the scene of the birth of the Virgin in the upper left corner of the picture. In fact, what Lippi depicted here was the real daily life scenes of the women of the wealthy class in Florence in the 15th century, and the buildings in the painting were painted in a completely realistic manner, which not only demonstrated the painter's grasp of perspective technology, but also effectively separated the three storylines on the picture, allowing the viewer to easily understand the entire painting.

Figure 8. Filippo Lippi, "Stories from the Life of the Virgin and Child with St. Anne", tempera on wood, painted around 1465-1470, 135 cm in diameter, now on display in the Pitti Palace Museum in Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

3. Simple Conclusion

Lippi was not alone in his artistic style. Among his contemporaries, there were painters with similar styles. The most famous of them should be Francesco Pesellino (ca. 1422-1457), whose style in his later years was very similar to Lippi's. The Madonna and Child with Swallows (Figure 9), currently on display at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, USA, is the most copied Madonna in the early Renaissance. The Madonna of the Rosary shown in Figure 10 is signed by Pier Francesco Fiorentino. Modern scholars believe that this may be a group of painters who are followers of Filippo Lippi and Francesco Pesellino. Madonna of the Rosary is a famous painting they painted.

Figure 9. Francesca Pesserino, "Madonna and Child with Swallows", tempera on wood, painted around 1455, 60 cm high and 40 cm wide, now on display at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Art in Boston, USA | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 10. Pier Francesca Fiorentino, Madonna of the Rosary, tempera on wood, painted around 1470, height 67.2 cm, width 46 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA | Image source: Wikipedia

Lippi's most important and accomplished successors were undoubtedly Botticelli and his own son Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), who inherited and developed Lippi's style (see Figure 11); through their students, such as Raffaellino del Garbo (1466-1527), Lippi's style was introduced into the high Renaissance of the 16th century (see Figure 12).

Figure 11. Lippi the Younger, The Vision of Saint Bernard, oil on wood, painted in 1486, 210 cm high, 195 cm wide, now on display in Badia Fiorentina, Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 12. Raffaellino del Garbo, "Annunciation", oil on wood, painted between 1510 and 1515, height 58.4 cm, width 90.9 cm | Image source: Wikipedia

Author profile: Zhang Yi is an art historian, consultant to the Clock and Ancient Musical Instruments Department of the Hermitage Museum in Russia, consultant to the French Pendulum Clock Gallery, consultant to the Guangdong Clock Collection Research Professional Committee, and also a mathematician and logician.