Panel from a Triptych: The Archangel Michael

Executed by Fra Filippo Lippi, the panel demonstrates the artist’s use of linear perspective to create a convincing three‑dimensional space. Precise orthogonal lines guide the eye toward the architectural elements, while the modeling of the angel’s form employs subtle gradations of tone, lending a sense of volume. The work reflects the influence of Masaccio’s pioneering perspective in the Brancacci Chapel, adapted to Lippi’s delicate, narrative style.

Commissioned in 1457 by Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici of Florence, the triptych was intended as a diplomatic gift for Alfonso V of Aragon. The central panel has since been lost, leaving the two side wings—depicting Saint Anthony the Abbot and Michael—separate. The surviving pieces have passed through various collections before entering their present museum setting, where they continue to illustrate the cross‑cultural patronage of the mid‑15th‑century Italian courts.