Triptych of the Madonna of Humility with Saints

This early triptych by Filippo Lippi, painted around 1430, depicts the Madonna of Humility flanked by Saints John the Baptist and George (or Ansanus). Created during Lippi's formative years as a Carmelite friar in Florence, the work shows the transition from late Gothic conventions to the emerging Renaissance naturalism championed by Masaccio, whose frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel profoundly influenced the young Lippi. The intimate format suggests it was intended for private devotion. Now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

The triptych format follows medieval precedent, but Lippi's modeling of flesh tones and drapery reveals an awareness of Masaccio's volumetric approach. The gold ground and decorative tooling reflect the persistence of Gothic workshop practices in early quattrocento Florence.