Focus on this artwork and analyze the History.
The commission and the exact execution date of the painting are unknown. In 1457, Giovanni de’ Medici wished to gift a panel to the King of Naples and commissioned Fra Filippo to paint it. Fra Filippo, who was working in Prato at that time, decided to temporarily return to his residence in Florence to work on this project. Fra Filippo wrote letters to Giovanni that show that the painter abandoned the project because of a lack of funding. Although art historian Ulmann believes that Fra Filippo presented the Uffizi Madonna to Giovanni to thank him for acting as an intermediary between him and the King of Naples, Edward C. Strutt states that this belief is incorrect. However, he also states that the Uffizi Madonna was in all probability executed around this time, while Fra Filippo was staying in Florence. This is also demonstrated by the techniques that Fra Filippo used to realize this painting: the blunt execution and the bold colors highlight how the painter was influenced by the technique of fresco painting. Since he acquired such techniques by working at the Prato Cathedral, long before he moved to Florence, Strutt believes that Fra Filippo must have executed this painting after his time working at the Cathedral.The Madonna is traditionally identified with Lucrezia Buti, as for most of Fra Filippo's Madonnas.Another possible interpretation of the painting is that the unusual size is perhaps connected to a personal event, such as the birth of his son, Filippino (1457): however, if Filippino was chosen as model for the angel in the foreground, the panel could be from a date as late as around 1465.An 18th-century inscription in the rear of the panel testifies the presence of the painting  in the Medici Villa del Poggio Imperiale at the time. On 13 May 1796 it entered the Gran Ducal collections in Florence, which formed the base of the future Uffizi museum.
Madonna Lucrezia Buti Filippino Florence Villa del Poggio Imperiale fresco painting Uffizi King of Naples Prato fresco Medici Prato Cathedral Gran Ducal