2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The article tells about the life and work of Filippino Lippi, a representative of the painters of the Lippi family. His life path and features of the manner of writing are considered, including as a representative of mannerism (the stage of the late Renaissance) according to D. Vasari.
Artist biography
Filipino Lippi's biography begins almost with a joke. He was born around 1457-1458 in the Tuscan city of Prato, in the family of the famous painter Fra Filippo Lippi and Lucrezia Buti. His father was a monk (hence the addition "Fra"), who was favored by the de facto ruler of Florence, Cosimo de' Medici, for his talent.
Being still that womanizer, despite his dignity and age (about 50 years old), Fra Filippo persuaded a pretty young novice of the monastery, Lucretia Buti, to be a model for his painting, seduced the girl and left. When she had a son, the patron of the artist Cosimo de Medici, in order to settle down his favorite, forced him to marry.
The artist's father was called Fra Filippo Lippi (in the history of art known as Filippo Lippi the Elder), he was a prominent representative of the proto-Renaissance, had his own art school. pupilhis was the talented Sandro Botticelli.
Filipino (a diminutive of Filippo) Lippi, or simply Filippino for everyone he knows, (Filippo Lippi the Younger in art history), lost his father early - at the age of twelve. The sadness in the eyes of the artist is marked on his self-portrait.
He studied painting with Fra Diamante, developed further under the influence of Sandro Botticelli and the works of his father.
Filipino Lippi worked in Florence, spent some time in Prato, lived and worked in Rome. He died in Florence on April 18, 1504. He was buried in the Florentine church of San Michele Bisdomine.
Artist's work
Most art critics point out that he was less talented than his father. However, in the paintings of Filippino Lippi, a strange touching and lyrical spirituality of his father's works, tenderness of color is preserved. Like and favorite models of artists. However, if Fra Filippo's calm majesty, characteristic of the best works of the Quattrocento, prevailed, then in his son, calmness turns into sadness and anxiety, anxiety and religious ex altation.
In the background of his paintings in the background, the tension is often emphasized by thunderstorms, pre-storm cloud clusters. His works are more dynamic, even sometimes dramatic. The figures in his work are masterfully grouped, but rarely beautifully free in movement. This makes Filippino Lippi a typical Mannerist.
Almost all of his paintings are painted on religious themes, illustrate the Old andNew Testaments. Their plots clearly pass through the heart of the artist, as in the works of Sandro Botticelli they convey the movement, flights and longing of an excited soul.
Early work in Florence
Florence was the birthplace of Filippino Lippi. The frescoes with which the artist completed the decoration of the chapel in the Florentine church of St. Mary del Carmine, begun by Masaccio Masolini, belong to his early and amazingly beautiful works. These are several New Testament frescoes depicting the life and deeds of the Apostle Peter, the fresco “Adoration of the Magi”, which is still kept in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, is sometimes referred to the same works.
In two small characteristic paintings by Filippino Lippi "The Death of Lucrezia" and "Esther" the Florentine style is clearly visible. They are similar to the work of the teacher, Sandro Botticelli, in their clarity, spaciousness, harmony and tranquility. They contain the music of the lines and volumes of the architectural masterpieces of Florence. Now "The Death of Lucretia" is in the Pitti Gallery, and "Esther" is in the French Chantilly.
Late frescoes
Remarkable are some of the later frescoes by Filippino Lippi. These are two unique Roman works in the church of St. Mary sopra Minerva, telling: on one huge fresco - about the triumph of St. Thomas, on the other, smaller - about the taking of the Virgin into heaven.
The artist also owns the frescoes of the Strozzi Chapel in the Church of St. Mary Novella in Florence. It depicts the deeds of the apostles John andnominal Saint Filippino - Philip. The images on the frescoes are already religiously ex alted and pretentious, but the hand of the master, the best after Botticelli in his circle, skillfully copes well with multi-figured compositions and color.
Works by the artist from the collection of the Berlin Art Gallery
Easel works of the master are not particularly numerous, although they are found in the churches of Florence. Some of them were taken out and exhibited in art museums in Europe and America. So, the Berlin Art Gallery owns the work "Allegory of Music" (the second name is "Erato"). This painting, despite all its apparent merits, is often criticized, especially by young people for the incomprehensibility of the allegory and lack of professionalism compared to the works of Titian, who is represented very widely in the same gallery.
Many other works of the Italian Renaissance, from Proto-Renaissance artists to High and Late Renaissance artists, are also on display at the Berlin Art Gallery.
Tribute to "little things" in the artist's paintings
When describing the works of his contemporary, Giorgio Vasari admires not his manner or professionalism, but his knowledge of ancient life. Indeed, in his works, Filippino introduces excessively large quantities of details borrowed from various antique sarcophagi and medals, ancient coins, ornaments, from the decor of ancient buildings and vases.
These details are a tribute to the fashion of the time, and in the eyes of people of the 20th and 21st centuries, not at alldecorate the image, but simply show the audience Filippino's manic collecting passion for rare antiques. This is also a consequence of Mannerism, a harbinger of the pretentiousness of Gothic decorations or an excess of luxury and confusion in the future Baroque (Rococo) style.
Influence on the artist of ancient treasures of Rome and Netherlandish painting
In Rome, where the artist ends up in 1488, instead of Italian landscapes, Filippino chooses the “wild” types of ruins copied from nature as a background for frescoes. And the landscapes and architecture of the master are clearly created under the influence of the painting of the Netherlands. This is noticeable in the frescoes of Filippino Lippi in the painting of the church of St. Mary sopra Minerva, mentioned above. It was from northern artists that the details of landscapes for frescoes were taken, but they were borrowed sensibly and interestingly, sometimes combined with Italian landscapes close to the artist.
Possible causes of Mannerism
Arrival in Rome dramatically affected the artist not only with his antique masterpieces, but also with the general mood of "anxiety" associated with the so-called "religious fire". This fire was caused by the fiery speeches of Girolamo Savonarolla. It continued for several years. The power of this fire shows the renunciation of Filippino's teacher and friend Sandro Botticelli from his art.
This ex altation of the subtle natures of the artists under the influence of Savonarola's religious sermons was inevitable, and the execution of the accuser monk for heresy had an even more difficult and complex effect on their psyche. religioustorment and torment, undoubtedly, became one of the causes of pain and anguish in the work of Filippino Lippi.
Self-portrait
Located in the London National Gallery, Self-Portrait (top photo) is done in clear and pure colors that do not interfere with the consideration of the personality of the depicted artist.
The portrait is so realistic that it seems that you begin to understand even the thoughts of a person. To say that the eyes in the portrait are sad is to say nothing. Sadness settled in them a long time ago, because an orphan is an orphan. Yes, and Sandro Botticelli, judging by the descriptions of his contemporaries, was hardly too affectionate, although as a teacher he gave the boy a lot.
The first thing that catches the eye in the artist's self-portrait is pride in the turn of the head, closed lips and deep eyes with blue whites. The dark-skinned artist seems somewhat wild and gloomy. A challenge to the viewer slips in his eyes: “Well, what do you need?” When you meet such a look, you want to turn away so as not to embarrass its owner. If we compare the heroes of Romeo and Juliet, the portrait depicts Mercutio rather than Romeo.
Filipino's powerful neck is a tribute to the need to survive in that turbulent time when the artist lived. Epidemics and wars, religious explosions and palace coups, poverty and exquisite luxury, existing side by side, forced men to be constantly ready for skirmishes, carry weapons and be able to repel an attack. But the ardor in the portrait is softened by the ability to think, feel beauty and capture it for posterity.
Self-portrait is one of the decorations of the gallery, as well as another famous work of Filippino - "Madonna with Saints Jerome and Dominic ahead of her."
Recommended:
Russian painter, master of fresco and icon painting Gury Nikitin: biography, creativity and interesting facts
Gury Nikitin is one of the most famous and significant figures in Russian painting and icon painting. His life and work fell on the 17th century and left a bright mark in the cultural history of Russia. And although the factual data about the artist, which have come down to the present day, are very fragmentary, his works, his individual handwriting will forever remain monuments of the high spirituality of the past
British painter Joseph Mallord William Turner: biography, creativity
There is not much information about the life of this artist, and many of them are contradictory. It is known that William carefully concealed his life and deliberately distorted the facts of his biography. William Turner - an artist who believed that his work would tell about him best
Nikolay Krymov, landscape painter: biography, creativity
Nikolai Petrovich Krymov is an artist who worked in the last century. Landscapes were his favorite genre. Fields, forests, rural houses, buried in snow or rays of light - Krymov wrote his native nature and did not change his chosen path despite the turbulent events that took place in the country
Dionysius (icon painter). Icons of Dionysius. Creativity, biography
Dionysius the icon painter - the creator of the amazing murals of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow - escaped from the "Procrustean bed" of the established canon. His figures are not dead static, they are graceful, with an elongated silhouette, they soar. Therefore, many foreign art historians call Dionysius a “Russian mannerist”
Takashi Murakami - Japanese artist, painter, sculptor: biography and creativity
The article tells about the contemporary and popular artist Takashi Murakami, who is of Japanese origin
