Image source: Wikimedia Commons (CC0). View source
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels
Filippo Lippi · Renaissance & Mannerism
- Artist
- Fra Filippo Lippi (c. 1406–1469)
- Date
- c. 1440
- Dimensions
- 123 x 63 cm
- Medium
- Tempera and gold on wood
- Location
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
This panel shows the Virgin Mary enthroned in a shell-shaped niche, holding the Christ Child on her lap, while two angels lean on the arms of the throne. It was probably the central part of a larger altarpiece.
A closer look
Lippi gives the sacred figures a tender, human presence: the Virgin, with a gentle face and transparent veil, supports the plump, lively child, and the angels, with their curly hair and serious expressions, look like Florentine boys. The throne is decorated with classical carvings in a new Renaissance style, and the scalloped niche frames the Virgin like a halo. The soft modelling and warm light show the influence of Masaccio, while the graceful lines anticipate Lippi's most famous pupil, Sandro Botticelli.