Saint Francis And The Angel – Lorenzo Lippi (1606 – 1665)

Oil on canvas. 17th century Florence. Lorenzo Lippi.
This graceful work depicts Saint Francis of Assisi, a 12th century Italian monk, in an episode of his life rarely represented in the history of art and whose legend has come down to us through the story told by Father Salvatore Vitale in his Historia serafica. Saint Francis prays with his hands on his chest, revealing his stigmata. Cherishing the dream of entering the priesthood but not considering himself worthy of it, he seeks in prayer an answer to this dilemma. It was then that an angel holding a flask of water appeared to him in a mystical vision: "Look at Francis, he said to him, this is how he must be pure who wishes to give to men the body and blood of Christ”. Believing that he would never reach this degree of perfection, the humble young man renounced the priesthood. Thus, the artist represents the silent dialogue that plays out in the very conscience of Saint Francis. Our painting is an unpublished version of a subject already painted by the Florentine artist and poet Lorenzo Lippi in the late 1650s and preserved today in the National Gallery of Ancient Art in Trieste. Notwithstanding some variations in the details, our composition equals this other version. Lippi executes here a painting filled with an aura of devotion to delight Tridentine Christianity. To do this, his style resorts to a stripped-down realism, which is embodied in the naturalistic treatment of the bure of Saint Francis whose weft, frayed sleeves and seams can be seen. Here, the saint has his eyes half-closed, his head surmounted by a halo whose oblique position gives him an increase in realism and perspective compared to the Trieste version. We find there the rope with three knots of the Franciscans symbolizing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
This naturalistic manner is akin to that adopted by Giuseppe de Ribera in his Vision of Saint Francis, which was part of the Medici collection in the 1630s and from which Lippi probably drew inspiration. However, he stands out from the Spanish master with a more serene treatment of the face, giving us a softer tone of flesh. Facing Saint Francis, stands the angel whose face has the perfection of that of an adolescent, and who is also found in many compositions by Lorenzo Lippi, in the forefront of which his Saint Catherine of Alexandria ( private collection). The bulb he is holding is more finely worked than in the Trieste version, revealing slight luminous highlights which indicate the sole source of light. Finally, through this interplay of gazes that do not intersect, the painter orchestrates a profound spiritual exchange between the two protagonists, which is reminiscent of the style of his contemporaries Francesco Furini or Cesare Dandini. As an accomplished virtuoso, Lorenzo Lippi performs here a work of museum quality whose naturalism creates an impression of religious ecstasy capable of delighting souls.

In its original frame in molded and gilded wood.
Dimensions: 95 x 115 cm - 118 x 140 cm with the frame

Biography: Both painter and poet, Lorenzo Lippi (Florence, May 3, 1606 - Id. April 15, 1665) apprenticed with Matteo Rosselli with whom he decorated many churches in the Florence area. After being emancipated in 1630, he opened his own studio in 1634. His first paintings show a manner close to that of his master and the use he made of sfumato, to increase the dramatic effect of his works, was reminiscent of the work of Francesco Furini. It was in the 1640s that he developed a more personal style based on figures with pure and simple lines inspired in particular by the style of Santi di Tito. This stylistic evolution can be observed in the frescoes of altars he painted in the years 1650-1660. The clarity of his compositions allows him to distil his literary and philosophical knowledge in didactic paintings for the faithful. His friend Baldinucci also praises his talents as an artist in the biography he devotes to him.

Bibliography:
- D'AFFLITTO Chiara, Lorenzo Lippi, Florence, Edifir, 2002.
- Florence in the Grand Siècle: between painting and literature, Dir. Elena Fumagalli, Massimiliano Rossi, (exp. cat., Ajaccio, Palais Fesch, July – October 2011), Silvana Editoriale, 2011.
- MALE, Emile, Religious art of the 17th century, [Armand Colin, 1931], 2nd ed. , Paris, Armand Colin, 1984.
- REAU, Louis, Iconography of Christian Art, 3 vol. Paris, University Press of France, 1959.