Annunciation Triptych
Historical Context
This Triptych of the Madonna of Humility with Saints by Filippo Lippi, dating to around 1430, is an early work now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The Madonna of Humility type, showing the Virgin seated on the ground rather than enthroned, emphasized Mary's meekness and was particularly associated with Franciscan devotion. This early triptych shows Lippi still working within established devotional formats before developing his more innovative mature compositions.
Technical Analysis
The triptych reveals Lippi's early style with gold-ground panels, careful tempera technique, and emerging spatial awareness, combining traditional Gothic elements with the new naturalism of early Renaissance Florence.
