Madonna and Child Enthroned

Filippo Lippi's Madonna and Child Enthroned, painted around 1437 and now in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome, shows the Virgin seated on an elaborate throne with the Christ Child. The work reflects the traditional Florentine approach to the enthroned Madonna while incorporating the new naturalism of the early Renaissance. Lippi was at this time a friar at the Carmelite convent, though his unconventional life would eventually lead to a papal dispensation from his vows.

The panel demonstrates Lippi's characteristic soft figure modeling and gentle expressions, with careful attention to the architectural throne and the decorative elements that frame the sacred figures in early Renaissance style.