Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
Filippo Lippi·1430
Historical Context
This Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints from about 1430 at the St Andreas Picture Gallery belongs to Lippi's early career, when the influence of Masaccio's monumental frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel was still fresh. The enthroned format follows the traditional sacra conversazione type that would dominate Florentine altarpiece painting throughout the fifteenth century. Characteristic of Lippi's approach, the work displays elegant linear grace, tender humanity, lyrical Madonna types, decorative refinement.
Technical Analysis
The formal, symmetrical arrangement of saints around the enthroned Virgin retains elements of Gothic convention, while the more naturalistic modeling of individual faces shows Lippi absorbing the lessons of the early Renaissance.
