Filippino Lippi (Father: Fra Filippo Lippi [Painter]; Mother: Lucrezia Buti [Nun])
Filippino Lippi (c. 1457–1504) was a celebrated painter of the Italian Renaissance, known for a style that evolved from the delicate lyricism of his youth into a nervous, dynamic, and highly inventive aesthetic that foreshadowed Mannerism.
His life began with a scandal: he was the illegitimate son of the famous friar-painter Fra Filippo Lippi and the nun Lucrezia Buti. After his father’s death, the young Filippino entered the workshop of Sandro Botticelli, who had himself been a student of Fra Filippo. This unique lineage and training gave Filippino’s early work a grace and elegance very similar to Botticelli’s.
His first major achievement came in 1484, when he was commissioned to complete the frescoes of the Brancacci Chapel in Florence, which had been left unfinished by Masaccio nearly 60 years earlier. Filippino demonstrated immense skill and humility, adapting his style to match Masaccio’s monumental realism so seamlessly that the transition is often difficult to detect.
However, Filippino soon developed a distinct and more eccentric personal style. Influenced by a trip to Rome in 1488 (where he painted the Carafa Chapel), he became fascinated with archaeological details, “grotesques,” and ancient Roman motifs. His later works, such as the frescoes in the Strozzi Chapel (Santa Maria Novella, Florence), are characterized by restless energy, exaggerated movement, and bizarre, fantastical architecture. Vasari praised him for his “richness of invention” and for being the first to introduce modern “grotesques” into Florentine painting.
He died in 1504 at the height of his fame; it is recorded that the shops in Florence closed on the day of his funeral as a mark of respect.
Active in others filds : Drawing (Prolific silverpoint draftsman), Temporary Festival Decorations.
