Filippo Lippi
1406–1469 · Italian

Filippo Lippi

In 1456, while painting in the convent of Santa Margherita in Prato, a Carmelite friar began a relationship with one of the nuns. Her name was Lucrezia Buti. He took her to his house. The convent tried to reclaim her. She stayed. Their son, Filippino Lippi, born in 1457, became one of the most accomplished Florentine painters of the next generation.

Held in 17 museums

Where to seeShop prints
Portrait of Filippo Lippi

Biography

Lippi was born in Florence around 1406, the son of a butcher. Orphaned at two, he was placed in the Carmelite convent at eight because his aunt could not afford to raise him. Giorgio Vasari recorded that the boy had "a great distaste for books" and covered his schoolbooks with drawings until the prior directed him toward painting. Masaccio was working on the Brancacci Chapel frescoes in the same convent; the young Lippi watched and absorbed everything.

According to Vasari, he was once captured by pirates on the Adriatic and enslaved for eighteen months before winning his freedom by drawing a portrait of his captor. The story may be embellished, but Lippi's life invited embellishment. Cosimo de' Medici, his patron, reportedly had to lock him in a room to force him to work; Lippi escaped using a rope made of bedsheets. He was also accused of forgery to cover debts.

None of this prevented the work from being extraordinary. His Madonnas introduced a warmth and psychological intimacy new to Florentine painting. Sandro Botticelli trained in his workshop and absorbed his lyrical line. It took papal intervention to release Lippi from his vows so he could marry Lucrezia. He died in Spoleto in 1469, at about sixty-three, while working on cathedral frescoes. Lorenzo de' Medici commissioned his tomb.

Timeline

  1. 1406Born in Florence to a butcher's family. Orphaned by the age of two and placed in the care of his aunt Mona Lapaccia.
  2. 1420Admitted to the Carmelite priory in Florence at age 14, taking religious vows the following year.
  3. 1432Left the Carmelite monastery at around 26, though he was never formally released from his vows.
  4. 1437Returned to Florence at 31 under Medici patronage, receiving commissions for convents and churches across the city.
  5. 1441Completed an altarpiece for the nuns of Sant'Ambrogio in Florence at age 35, now a prominent work in the Uffizi collection.
  6. 1452Began decorating the choir of Prato Cathedral at age 46, a project that would occupy him for over a decade alongside his collaborator Fra Diamante.
  7. 1456While chaplain of the convent of Santa Margherita in Prato, the 50-year-old friar eloped with the young nun Lucrezia Buti, causing a major scandal.
  8. 1469Died in Spoleto at approximately 63 while working on frescoes of the Life of the Virgin in the cathedral apse. Lorenzo de' Medici arranged his tomb.

Notable Works

Tap to view larger.

Related Artists

Piero di Cosimo

Piero di Cosimo

1462–1522

Giovanni Bellini

Giovanni Bellini

1430–1516 · Italian

Sandro Botticelli

Sandro Botticelli

1445–1510 · Italian

Giovanni Battista Moroni

Giovanni Battista Moroni

1525–1578

Andrea Mantegna

Andrea Mantegna

1431–1506 · Italian

Antonio da Correggio

Antonio da Correggio

1489–1534 · Signoria di Correggio

Plan your visit to see Filippo Lippi →

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Fra filippo lippi art style?
    Lippi's art style tempered the monumentality of form he learned from Masaccio with a delicacy and sweetness similar to that found in Fra Angelico's paintings. The serene mystical quality of his later paintings reveal growing Netherlandish influences in Italy. His Virgin has a rounded physical presence, statuesque and forbidding despite its fullness.
  • How did filippo lippi die?
    Filippo Lippi died in 1469 at the age of 63.
  • What was filippo lippi known for?
    Filippo Lippi's Madonnas introduced a warmth and psychological intimacy that was new to Florentine painting. He is also known for the sculptural influence on his representation of physical space. His student Sandro Botticelli absorbed his lyrical line.
  • Who was fra filippo lippi?
    Fra Filippo Lippi was an orphan sent to a monastery at the age of eight to become a monk, but he was unsuited to the life. In 'The Coronation of the Virgin', there is a self-portrait of him looking out on the far left. He is known for his rotund figures and understanding of space.
  • Who was filippo lippi?
    Filippo Lippi was an orphan sent to a monastery at the age of eight to become a monk, but he was unsuited to the life. In 'The Coronation of the Virgin', there is a self-portrait of him looking out on the far left. He is known for his rotund figures and understanding of space.

Sources

Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Filippo Lippi.

  1. [1] book Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author, Beard, Lee, 1973- author, Butler, Adam, author; Van Cleave, Claire, author; Fortenberry, Diane, author; Stirling, Susan, author - The Art Book_ New Edition, Mini Format Used for: biography.
  2. [2] book Beckett, Wendy, The story of painting Used for: biography.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-06-21. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

Editorial standardsMethodologyCorrectionsAI disclosureAbout the editorial team

Keep exploring

Discover Art Artists, movements and museums Art Movements From the Renaissance to now Museums Where to see art worldwide