Artwork
Virgin and Child with Angels
Virgin and Child with Angels is an unspecified painting by the Renaissance artist Filippo Lippi. It dates from 1460 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The panel depicts a serene Virgin cradling the infant Christ, encircled by a group of diminutive angels.
About this work
The original was lost, but this version gives us a hint of what it looked like.
You see a woman in a dark robe holding a baby, surrounded by small angels. The woman’s face is calm, and the baby reaches toward her.
This painting was likely made by someone copying Fra Filippo Lippi’s work. The original was lost, but this version gives us a hint of what it looked like. It was part of a larger altarpiece for the Medici family in Florence.
To see more like this, look up Fra Filippo Lippi (Italian, c. 1406–1469).
Overview
The panel depicts a serene Virgin cradling the infant Christ, encircled by a group of diminutive angels. Rendered in a dark mantle, the mother’s tranquil expression contrasts with the child’s reaching gesture, creating a quiet devotional scene typical of mid‑15th‑century Florentine painting.
Subject & Meaning
The composition emphasizes the intimate bond between mother and child, a common motif in devotional imagery intended to inspire piety. The surrounding angels function as celestial witnesses, reinforcing the sacred nature of the encounter and guiding the viewer’s contemplation toward the divine relationship.
Technique & Style
Executed in tempera on panel, the work mirrors Fra Filippo Lippi’s graceful figures, delicate modeling, and soft color palette. The handling of light on the Virgin’s veil and the infant’s flesh reflects the workshop’s attempt to emulate Lippi’s characteristic lyrical elegance and spatial harmony.
History & Provenance
The panel is a 15th‑century Florentine copy of the lost central image from a Medici‑commissioned triptych of 1457. It entered the museum’s collection after being acquired from Mrs. L. E. Holden, who purchased it prior to the museum’s acquisition of the two flanking panels portraying Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Michael.
Context
The original triptych was created for a Medici altar, situating the Virgin and Child within a broader narrative of saintly intercession. The surviving copy offers insight into the visual program of the lost central panel and the ways Lippi’s workshop disseminated his designs across Florence.
Artist & collection
Artist
Filippo Lippi (c. 1406 – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Quattrocento (fifteenth century) and a Carmelite priest. He was an early Renaissance master of a painting…
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