Focus on Barbadori Altarpiece and explain the Description.
The panel follows the traditional polyptych pattern of the time only in the upper part, which has arcades and columns. Also differently from previous works, Lippi painted the Virgin as standing, and made her the central point of the composition.
The angel on the left pulling up his garment is inspired by Nanni di Banco's group of the "Quattro Coronati", a sculpture in a niche of Orsanmichele. Another element of innovation (introduced at the same time by Fra Angelico) was the lack of a gilded background, replaced by an architectural space with a window opening to hilly landscape, inspired to Flemish contemporary works. The shell-shaped niche in the background, a typical element of 15th century Florentine painting, and of Lippi in particular, is inspired by a niche in the Tribunale of the Mercanzie in Orsanmichele, designed by Donatello.
The kneeling saints are St. Augustine on the right and St. Fridianus on the left. On the far left is a self-portrait of Lippi, identified as the young monk behind the balustrade.The work was originally accompanied by a predella, which was returned to Florence after the fall of Napoleon and is now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It includes three panels depicting St. Fridianus Changing the Course of the Serchio, An Angel Foretells the Virgin Mary's Death to Her, with the Arrival of the Apostles and St Augustine's Vision of the Holy Spirit.
Uffizi St. Augustine Serchio Orsanmichele Uffizi Gallery Fra Angelico Flemish contemporary works Donatello Fridianus predella polyptych