Filippino Lippi
An Abundance of Invention
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Reaktion Books
Published:12th Sep '22
Should be back in stock very soon

This insightful volume offers a fresh perspective on the life and artistry of Filippino Lippi, a significant Renaissance master-artist.
This groundbreaking work is the first comprehensive study of the Renaissance master-artist Filippino Lippi in English in over seventy years. Filippino Lippi explores the life and artistry of this remarkable painter, who was celebrated for his ingenuity by Vasari in 1550. Despite his initial acclaim, Lippi's contributions were largely forgotten for centuries until he was rediscovered by poet Swinburne in 1868, who lauded his inventive spirit and creativity.
The book delves into the unique challenges Lippi faced as he catered to the diverse demands of his patrons. Whether a Roman cardinal sought a classically inspired piece or a Florentine humanist desired an artwork that reflected antiquarian interests, Lippi demonstrated an exceptional ability to interpret and fulfill these requests. Through this exploration, Filippino Lippi highlights the artist's innovative solutions and his remarkable sensitivity to the needs of his time.
In presenting a fresh perspective on Lippi's work, this volume not only reestablishes his significance within the Renaissance but also invites readers to appreciate the depth of his artistic problem-solving skills. The book serves as a vital resource for anyone interested in Renaissance art and the enduring legacy of Filippino Lippi, ensuring that his contributions are recognized and celebrated once more.
a passionate and dense study that integrates the vast [Filippino Lippi] monograph of almost twenty years earlier, with fewer details but with an even sharper capacity for critical penetration. -- Edoardo Villata * Critica d'Arte *
Abundant invention and a special intelligence define Filippino Lippi’s works as presented by Jonathan K. Nelson, who matches those qualities in his analysis of the artist’s career. Filippino emerges here in all of his creative versatility. Nelson demonstrates the painter’s stylistic sensitivity, showing how he met the demands of different situations with striking and innovative solutions. Highly praised in his time, Filippino provoked new ways of looking. Nelson, in turn, provides a fascinating new way of seeing Lippi and his works. * Patricia Rubin, Emerita Professor of Art History, New York University *
Nelson's book combines a rigorous historical approach with an admirable openness to ideas that make it the most sophisticated and well-rounded monograph on the artist yet written. By thoughtfully defining the special qualities of this inventive painter, Nelson offers his readers new insights into how Filippino's work was understood by his contemporaries and how his inventiveness mattered in his own time. * Christian K. Kleinbub, Professor of Italian Renaissance Art, Ohio State University *
Nelson, a highly respected scholar and the premiere authority on Filippino Lippi, offers a fresh perspective of an artist who "was always aiming at novelty" . . . The attractive volume has 70 color illustrations placed at appropriate points in the short, 200-page text. Like other volumes in the series, this is a contribution from which scholars and graduate students will gain much and undergraduates are ensured a reliable, informed, affordable introduction to a fascinating artist. * Choice *
ISBN: 9781789146011
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
248 pages