Peter and Paul Disputing Simon Magus

This Peter and Paul Disputing Simon Magus, painted around 1481 and attributed to Filippino Lippi, depicts the confrontation between the apostles and the sorcerer Simon Magus, who attempted to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit and whose encounter with Peter became a foundational story for the church's opposition to the sale of sacred offices — the sin of 'simony' named after him. Filippino Lippi, son of Fra Filippo Lippi and trained by Botticelli, developed into one of Florence's most innovative painters, known for his nervous energy, archaeological learning, and decorative complexity. His frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel (completing what Masaccio and Masolino had left unfinished) and the Strozzi Chapel in Santa Maria Novella are among the most ambitious decorative programs of the Florentine Renaissance. This early panel from 1481 reflects his Botticellian formation while showing the emerging independence and compositional sophistication of his mature style. The subject of the apostolic confrontation with Simon Magus was appropriate for a church interior where the victory of orthodox faith over heresy and corruption was a perpetual theme.

Oil on panel with Filippino's characteristic restless energy and decorative elaboration. The work demonstrates the artistic qualities characteristic of Filippino Lippi's period.