Genius and passion

Fra’ Filippo was an independent, unconventional spirit all his life. His character was impulsive and passionate, and he sometimes lost control; but it was just this adventurous personality of his, his sanguine nature not immune to desire, vice, remorse and raging passion – especially for women (which is the aspect biographers and critics always dwell on, never forgiving the painter for having betrayed Art with his dissolute life) – that enabled him to achieve such a profound understanding of human nature and shaped his knowledge into an expressivity that he was able to transfer to his paintings.

Thus, in spite of his many ideal masters, the artistic vision of Lippi, in the end, is highly individual, far from the rigors of the Brancacci Chapel, the drama of Donatello, the candor of Fra’ Angelico. The characteristics of Fra’ Filippo are his extraordinary narrative skill, with an almost popular, rustic quality that makes the most complex sacred stories comprehensible, orchestrated as if for a theatrical representation; his creative imagination that observes everyday behavior carefully and uses these details to enhance the realism of the scene; his frequent, precocious use of the portrait and above all his portrayal of the emotions of living, real people with all their pulsating, vulgar or refined humanity, saints and sinners alike.   back >