In this earliest known picture by Filippo Lippi, the painter is still entirely under the influence of his youthful training. It is just like an illuminated miniature on a large scale, and is lacking in unity of design or pictorial vision. Note the way in which the figure of the Madonna is detached from the background, without having any real plastic life; and how awkwardly the monk is placed in the corner. The rocky landscape, with its steep perspective, is still quite in the spirit of the early primitives, although certain realistic details, like the cut-down tree-stump behind the Virgin, and the reflection of the sky in the water, show his loving observation of Nature. The picture was for a long time attributed to Masaccio's master, Masolino.] Filippo Lippi BY P. G. KONODY ILLUSTRATED WITH EIGHT REPRODUCTIONS IN COLOUR [Illustration: IN SEMPITERNUM.] LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK NEW YORK: FREDERICK A. STOKES CO. CONTENTS Page I. 9 II. 19 III. 41 IV. 66 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Plate I. The Virgin Adoring the Infant Saviour Frontispiece In the Accademia, Florence Page II. St. John the Baptist with six other Saints 14 In the National Gallery, London III. The Vision of St. Bernard 24 In the National Gallery, London IV. The Annunciation 34 In the National Gallery, London V. The Coronation of the Virgin 40 In the Accademia, Florence VI. The Virgin and Child 50 In the Pitti Palace, Florence VII. The Virgin and Child with two Angels 60 In the Uffizi Gallery, Florence VIII. The Virgin and Child with Angels and two Abbots 70 In the Louvre, Paris [Illustration] I