Filippino Lippi and Sandro Botticelli in the Florence of ‘400
di // pubblicato il 11 Novembre, 2011
- Translated by Patrizia Cani -
According to most manuals, the beginning of the history of Italian modern art coin-cides with the competition organised by Art of Merchants in 1401 for the construction of the bronze portal of the Florence Baptistery.
Putting aside for a moment the strictness of Art History periodization, it is undeniable that that competition involved a number of artists, as Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Jacopo della Quercia, which will characterise the next Florentine artistic season, offering formal and figurative languages close to the culture of classical antiquity and humanism.
But nothing happens by chance: why Florence and not Rome, Milan or Palermo? The reason lies in the fact that in the ‘400 the Tuscan town experienced a condition of economic, political and social stability which other centres have not yet reached. The great plague of 1348 and the economic crisis caused by the fall of Peruzzi and Bardi banks are long gone.
In these times in Florence will settle the most important European scholars, as Em-manuel Chrysoloras invited by Coluccio Salutati to teach Greek. The rediscovery and revival of classical culture begins above all, more than with the direct vision of ancient works, thanks to the thorough study of Latin and Greek texts and the direct meeting with the Eastern Church leaders, arrived in town for the council in 1439.
The fall of Constantinople in 1453, and the consequent exodus of scholars, clerics and scholars towards the Italian coast will additionally contribute to the melting of western and Byzantine culture. Particularly important in this regard is George Gemistos, better known as Plethon, Neoplatonic philosopher "quasi Platonem alterum" as Marsilio Ficino defined him; other key figure of the period, invited by Cosimo the Elder in 1459 to direct the Platonic Academy.
From a purely artistic point of view of the city is dominated by some absolutely out-standing personalities, who contend the numerous commissions and help to shape ideas and make visible the new and dominant culture. In addition to Brunelleschi and Masaccio, however, who both belong to a previous generation, it should be mentioned Andrea and Piero del Pollaiuolo, Andrea del Verrocchio and Fra 'Filippo Lippi. The latter in particular can be considered as a real bridge between the first and second Florentine Renaissance. Born in the early years of the fifteenth century and entered the monastery very young, he had, as Vasari says, the opportunity to study in depth Masaccio's frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel reaching very early fame for the elegant and gentle use of line in his paintings.
He will then constitute a large workshop in which is formed Sandro Botticelli, the artist who perhaps best embodies the spirit of Neoplatonic Medici court, at least until the spiritual and artistic crisis that coincides with the anniversary of the death of Lorenzo il magnifico and the preaching of Savonarola.
From 1472, among the many apprentices of Botticelli workshop, is also included Filippino Lippi, who was born in 1457 from the scandalous relationship between Filippo and Lucrezia Buti, a nun of the convent of Santa Margherita in Prato.
Lippi and Botticelli will then cooperate on a number of paintings, and in particular the Annunciation of the Academy Galleries; milestone in his career, however, will be the completion of Masaccio frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel. The work of art, suddenly interrupted in the '20s of the fifteenth century due to the sudden death of the painter, is considered one of the cornerstones of the century’s Florentine painting.
The chapel became so famous that continuously attracted practising painters, as witnessed, once again, by Giorgio Vasari:
"All the most celebrated sculptors and painters who after him have become excellent and clear, practiced and studied in this chapel: among them are Fra Giovanni da Fi-esole, Fra Filippo, Filippino who completed it, Alesso Baldovinetti, Andrea del Castagno, Andrea del Verrocchio , Domenico Ghirlandajo, Sandro Botticelli, Leo-nardo da Vinci, Perugino, Fra Bartolomeo di San Marco, Mariotto Albertinelli, and the most divine Michelangelo Buonarroti [...]. In short, all those who have tried to learn this art, went always to learn in this chapel, and learn the precepts and rules of doing well by the figures of Masaccio. And if I have not mentioned many foreigners and many Florentines who have come studying the chapel, suffice to know that where the heads of art go, there also go the limbs.”
A true worship surrounds the chapel, and as seen, a steady procession of artists, scholars and enthusiasts flock there even before its completion in the early eighties. The honour goes to Filippino who, although not being the most known or appreciated among those mentioned by Vasari, he was indeed very young at the time of the commission, an advantage he could boast over the others. Its young age and the fact that he still didn’t have a fully formed style, allowed him to approach as much as possible to the style of Masaccio, to which he could also boast an "hereditary" connection.
We have already mentioned as Filippo Lippi had worked and lived in the convent of the Carmine, where (according to Vasari) "had taken the style of Masaccio and was making things in such a similar way that many said that it was the spirit of Masaccio to be entered the body of Fra Flippo.”
Thanks to this prestigious commission Filippino could occupy a prestigious position in the Florentine art scene, while earning the trust and support of the Magnificent which, as we shall see, will be crucial for his career.
Just after the frescoes of the Carmine is the commission for the Strozzi Chapel of Santa Maria Novella, dated 1487. The work, however, will be early interrupted for an even more important commitment that brings the painter in Rome. The author of the relocation seems to be Lorenzo il Magnifico and his desire to maintain a good rela-tionship with Cardinal Oliviero Carafa, on which depends the award of the purple robe (cardinal proclamation) to the thirteen years old Giovanni de 'Medici. Filippo will paint the Cardinal chapel in the church of “Santa Maria sopra Minerva”.
In Rome, Filippino made his masterpiece, blending the experience to the study of classical art, as evidenced by the intelligent use of monochrome and of the “grottesche” (naturalistic decorations) in the rendition of architectural details. An ability certainly derived from the vision of the Domus Aurea, at the time just rediscovered, and from the study of other ancient buildings of the Rome of the end of the century.
The Roman experience represents therefore a real watershed for the career of the painter, who can then return to Florence to complete the Strozzi Chapel, where in fact reappear monochrome figures and attitudes taken from the classical statuary. An example of this style can be the figure of Noah, depicted at all similar to a river god.
The last years of his career saw a succession of commissions (from large altarpieces to minor tasks, such as making funeral equipment), some of which are left unfinished just because overwhelmed by too many commitments. As evidence of its value, and of the fact that he was already well regarded as a genuine authority in matters of art, are the words of Vasari, who describes his funeral April 21, 1504: "And while he was taken to bury all the shops were closed in the Via de 'Servi, as it’s use sometimes with Princes' funerals. "