The Virgin Mary

1406

Born

1424

The Brancacci Chapel: Masolino and Masaccio

In 1424 Lippi witnesses Masolino da Panicale and Masaccio painting the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, which proves decisive for his artistic vocation. The sculptors Donatello, Luca della Robbia, Nanni di Banco and Brunelleschi also serve as models for him, and Fra Beato Angelico influenced his artistic education.

1431–1432

Leaving the monastery, yet still in the habit

In 1431 Lippi gives up monastic life but goes on wearing the monk’s habit; other accounts say he left the monastery in 1432 without being released from his vows.

1456

Lucrezia Buti: an abduction from the convent in Prato

In 1456 Lippi, who was painting frescoes in the cathedral of Prato, abducts a young novice, Lucrezia Buti, from a convent and lives with her. According to Vasari, having been commissioned by the nuns of Santa Margherita to paint an altarpiece, he obtained permission to paint the Madonna from her, fell in love and took her away on the day she went to see the procession of the Virgin’s girdle. Other accounts place the meeting in 1458, although the son from this relationship was born in 1457.

8 October 1469

Death in Spoleto: the poisoning version

Lippi dies in Spoleto on or about 8 October 1469, while still working on the apse frescoes; the mode of his death is a matter of dispute: according to one version, before the pope’s permission to marry Lucrezia arrived he was poisoned by indignant relatives of Lucrezia or, in another version, by relatives of someone who had replaced her in the painter’s affections.

8 ottobre 1469

Died