The Virgin and Child

This intimate Virgin and Child at the National Gallery, London, painted around 1455, shows Lippi at the height of his powers in the devotional format he essentially reinvented. The Madonna's gentle melancholy and the Child's naturalistic gestures broke decisively with the hieratic traditions of earlier Florentine painting, bringing a new human warmth to sacred imagery. Characteristic of Lippi's approach, the work displays elegant linear grace, tender humanity, lyrical Madonna types, decorative refinement.

The Virgin's slightly averted gaze and the Child's lively movement create a psychological dynamic that transcends the conventional devotional formula, rendered in Lippi's characteristic soft, luminous palette.