DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61542#0190
152 FRA FILIPPO LIPPI [1406-
self engaged in another tedious law-suit respecting a
picture of St, Jerome, which he had agreed to paint
for Lorenzo de’ Manetti. As usual the unscrupulous
artist had taken the money without painting the
picture, and was condemned to be publicly excom-
municated by the Archbishop.
Meanwhile the frescoes in the church at Prato,
which Filippo had engaged to execute, in 1452, and
for which he had already received considerable sums,
were still unfinished. After repeated entreaties and
remonstrances, Carlo de’ Medici, the illegitimate son
of Cosimo, who became Rector of Prato, in 1460,
at length induced the Friar to resume the long-
neglected work, and the frescoes were finally com-
pleted in 1464. On the right wall of the choir, the
artist painted scenes from the life of the Baptist ; on
the left he represented the history of St. Stephen, the
patron-saint of Prato. These frescoes are Fra Lippo’s
most important works, and reveal his really great
powers of design and execution. The grandeur of
the composition and dramatic vigour with which the
story is told, the animation and variety of the in-
dividual figures and the admirable proportions and
perspective of the architecture justify the high praise
bestowed upon the friar’s works by Morelli, who com-
pares them with Mantegna’s frescoes at Padua, and
pronounces them to be among the noblest creations
of the fifteenth century. The early subjects from the
Baptist’s life abound in fascinating episodes and
graceful figures, whose classical design and flowing
lines prove Fra Lippo to have been an attentive
student of antique models. Especially attractive is
the simple and touching scene in which the young
self engaged in another tedious law-suit respecting a
picture of St, Jerome, which he had agreed to paint
for Lorenzo de’ Manetti. As usual the unscrupulous
artist had taken the money without painting the
picture, and was condemned to be publicly excom-
municated by the Archbishop.
Meanwhile the frescoes in the church at Prato,
which Filippo had engaged to execute, in 1452, and
for which he had already received considerable sums,
were still unfinished. After repeated entreaties and
remonstrances, Carlo de’ Medici, the illegitimate son
of Cosimo, who became Rector of Prato, in 1460,
at length induced the Friar to resume the long-
neglected work, and the frescoes were finally com-
pleted in 1464. On the right wall of the choir, the
artist painted scenes from the life of the Baptist ; on
the left he represented the history of St. Stephen, the
patron-saint of Prato. These frescoes are Fra Lippo’s
most important works, and reveal his really great
powers of design and execution. The grandeur of
the composition and dramatic vigour with which the
story is told, the animation and variety of the in-
dividual figures and the admirable proportions and
perspective of the architecture justify the high praise
bestowed upon the friar’s works by Morelli, who com-
pares them with Mantegna’s frescoes at Padua, and
pronounces them to be among the noblest creations
of the fifteenth century. The early subjects from the
Baptist’s life abound in fascinating episodes and
graceful figures, whose classical design and flowing
lines prove Fra Lippo to have been an attentive
student of antique models. Especially attractive is
the simple and touching scene in which the young