Filippino Lippi - The Madonna of the Well: A Renassiance Masterpiece Rediscovered

This sublime and elegant Florentine Renaissance panel has hung in a private collection in England for more than a century, its artist unidentified and its importance unrecognised. Never previously published or discussed in scholarly literature, it has now been identified as an early masterpiece by Filippino Lippi (1457 – 1504), one of the leading painters of the Florentine Renaissance.

Working closely with the family, Dickinson organised for the painting to be cleaned and closely studied, which revealed a work of exceptional quality. The discovery has now been the subject of an important new monograph by Andrea De Marchi, published by Mandragora in Florence. Through detailed stylistic comparisons and technical examination, including infrared reflectography, De Marchi demonstrates the painting's originality and places it among the most revealing works of Filippino's early career. Its emergence is particularly significant for our understanding of Filippino's formative years and his close artistic relationship with Botticelli, whose workshop he joined as a young painter.

In the unusually tall and arched panel, Lippi depicts the Madonna and Child with the young Saint John the Baptist in an original interpretation of this most traditional subject. The Madonna, using both hands, presents the naked infant Jesus - himself partially wrapped in a white shroud - to his cousin, St John the Baptist, who is seen in profile from behind as he kneels somewhat hesitantly to receive a blessing. The Virgin, whose almost monumental scale is softened by her stooping posture, bends in encouragement of the Christ Child's merciful blessing of the young St John. Between them, a fountain or well-head with an elegantly curved profile takes on a polysemic symbolism, perhaps alluding to the true water which quenches thirst forever or to the baptismal font, whilst to the left, a humble hut covered with straw, grafted onto a semi-ruined building made of large stones, recalls the popular imagery in 15th-century depictions of the Nativity. The figures are silhouetted - thanks to the low horizon line - against a seemingly endless landscape characterised by rolling hills and an ethereal blue sky, which serves to intensify the intimacy of their interaction. The work demonstrates the development of an artist of great imagination.

The Madonna of the Well will be on view at 58 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6LX from 14th to 21st October, (Monday to Friday, 9:30 - 17:30; weekend by appointment). We look forward to welcoming you to the gallery.