a family of Italian painters, representatives of the Florentine quattrocento.
Fra Filippo Lippi. Born circa 1406 in Florence; died Oct. 9, 1469, in Spoleto, Perugia.
From 1421 to 1456, Filippo was a Carmelite monk. His artistic development was influenced by Masaccio, Masolino, Lorenzo Monaco, and Fra Angelico. Fra Filippo softened the sculptural three-dimensionality of forms by using complex yet harmoniously fluid motifs of movement and a palette toned down with shadings (for example, the fresco The Reform of the Carmelite Rule, 1432, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence; Coronation of the Virgin, 1441–47, Uffizi Gallery, Florence). In his cycles of frescoes, which are marked by a subtle linear rhythm, he depicted a number of his contemporaries (for example, the murals on themes from the lives of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist, choir of the Prato Cathedral, 1452–64). His smaller religious compositions are distinguished by their serenity and intimacy (The Virgin Adoring the Child, late 1450’s-early 1460’s, Picture Gallery, Dahlem, Berlin; The Madonna and Child With Two Angels, c. 1465, Uffizi Gallery).
Filippino Lippi. Born circa 1457 in Prato, Tuscany; died Apr. 18, 1504, in Florence. Son of Fra Filippo.
Filippino studied initially with his father, then under Botticelli, whose influence permeates his early lyrical and spiritualized works (for example, Scenes From the Life of Lucrezia, c. 1475–1480, Pitti Gallery, Florence). Between 1481 and 1483 Filippino completed Masaccio’s frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. His mature work shows the influence of Leonardo da Vinci and the Dutch school. Elements of restlessness and a mannered tension gradually became evident in his frescoes and murals (for example, the murals in the Caraffa Chapel, 1488–93, in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome; the murals in the Strozzi Chapel, 1487–1502, in Santa Maria Novella, Florence). The architectural ornamental detail in Filippino’s work, reminiscent of the art of antiquity, imparts a particular refinement. Filippino was also a gifted draftsman.