Marsuppini Coronation

The Marsuppini Coronation of the Virgin by Filippo Lippi from around 1444 depicts the moment Christ places a crown on his mother's head — one of the supreme subjects of Marian devotion, which combined theological statement (Mary as Queen of Heaven) with the pictorial resources of a celestial court scene. The commission from Carlo Marsuppini, the humanist Chancellor of Florence, places this work at the center of Florentine civic and intellectual life. Marsuppini was Poggio Bracciolini's successor as Chancellor — a humanist of the first rank — and his patronage of this devotional work reflects the compatibility of humanist learning with orthodox religious practice in mid-century Florence. Lippi's heavenly court is populated with dancing angels that influenced Botticelli's treatment of similar subjects.

Lippi organizes the celestial scene with elegant figure groupings, delicate color harmonies of gold, blue, and rose, and the refined linear style that influenced his most famous pupil, Sandro Botticelli.