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418:, whose large fortune came appropriately from trading timber, bought the painting in 1814, during the upheavals of the Napoleonic wars, and it was acquired for the Berlin collection in 1821, as part of a large sale of his collection. It became famous and popular with the public on display in Berlin over the next century, and in 1940 was moved with other important works to safe storage in a Berlin bunker. In 1945 this was not felt safe enough, and with thousands of other artworks and other valuables it was moved to a
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174:, represented as a dove. All these figures form a near-continuous rough circle, slightly off-centre to the left. John's figure almost reaches the left edge of the painted surface, but on the right of the composition there is a generous slice of background, interrupted only by Mary's robe. It is not uncommon to have saints and persons not mentioned in the biblical accounts in Nativity scenes, but in addition to the normal elements. In contrast, as
182:
P" – "Brother
Phillip painted this") along the handle of an axe struck into a stump in the bottom left-hand corner. A small, evidently fast-running, stream runs down the right-hand side of the painting, crossed by a crude bridge of planks. On the other side of this, near the top of the painting there is a small hut-like building. On the near side of the stream a crane or heron preens itself. A small
331:, who knew the Medici well. The distinctive elements of the painting were quickly repeated by Lippi in a different composition of about 1463, known as the "Camaldoli Nativity". This was painted for Lucrezia Tornabuoni Medici's "cell" (one of the small single-story houses with its own plot) in the Camaldoli monastery, the treatment no doubt specified by her; it is now in the
434:
in
Washington, but the collection was not opened to the public, as the seizure had become controversial, with criticism in the press and Congress. Eventually the paintings were displayed as a temporary exhibition in the National Gallery, which toured to twelve cities in 1948–49; they were then sent
319:
of
Florence and of the Camaldoli monastery. Lucrezia Tornabuoni Medici had a particular devotion to him, demonstrated by her poetry. There has been much discussion as to who influenced the unusual features of the painting, apart from Lippi himself. Although there is surviving correspondence showing
181:
The scene is set on a steep slope in a rather dark forest, mostly consisting of pine trees, which runs right to the top of the composition, so that no sky can be seen. Stumps, discarded pieces of tree and other evidence of woodcutting is all around, and Lippi has signed his name ("FRATER PHILIPPUS
257:, were supporters of the order, and in the 1460s financed extensive rebuilding at Camaldoli, including cells reserved for their use when they visited. It is agreed that the forest in the painting represents the thick pine forests on the steep slopes around the monastery.
361:
380:
407:; Piero was dead within a few years, and the power of their many enemies grew until the main family members were expelled from Florence in 1494. Their goods were confiscated, and the Lippi was for several years hung as the altarpiece in the chapel of the
411:, headquarters of the republic. When the Medici returned in 1512 they reclaimed it and it returned to their palace, where it remained for the next three centuries. Although not on public display, the painting was very well-known and much copied.
307:
Because of this passage, an axe was an attribute of John the
Baptist in art, though by this period it was rare in Western art. It may also have had other specific and personal meanings for Lippi, arising from the traditions of his own
320:
that Piero de' Medici took a considerable interest in the
Gozzoli frescos, making his wishes prevail, there is nothing comparable for the altarpiece, and it has been argued that his wife Lucrezia was more significant for that.
214:
in 1422. Only nine
Florentine families were given the right in this period, and most of the identifiable altarpieces for such chapels featured several saints associated with the family, often the namesakes of members.
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122:
and transparent cloth. They are on a patch of ground with grass, several types of flower in bloom, but also some of the debris of forestry that appears throughout the forest background. To the left, the infant
425:
The US Army took the mine in the same year. At the end of the war the
Americans intended, like the Russians, to permanently seize artworks owned by the German government, and over strong protests from the
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1267:
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Having a "portable altar", and so a private chapel, in a family city house was at this time a rather rare privilege; the Medici's right to do so had been granted in a
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in small huts in forest clearings where they grew crops on their own plots. The cut down trees also refer to the words of John the
Baptist, given in the Gospel of
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1179:
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Woodcutting was a part of daily life for the community there, and timber for
Florentine builders a major source of income. Many of the monks lived as
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162:, the patrons of the painting had connections. At the top of the painting, slightly off-centre, are the two other persons of the Christian
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139:"). However, he is shown as perhaps five or six years old, a much bigger age difference with the newborn Jesus than the church taught.
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panel, and the painted surface measures 127 x 116 cm, with the panel being 129.5 x 118.5 cm. It is not to be confused with
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stands, wearing his attribute of a camelskin coat under a red robe. He carries a small cross on a long staff, and holds a
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By 1563 the lack of the normal elements of a
Nativity scene would be partly redressed by the completion of the famous
171:
81:, placed in a mountainous forest setting, with debris from woodcutting all around, rather than the familiar stable in
519:
Holmes, 178. The copy is of about 1470, attributed to a minor artist known as the "Pseudo-Pier Francesco Fiorentino"
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back to Germany. The touring exhibition was a huge success, seen by over ten million people. After returning to
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74:
873:
Women, Patronage, and Salvation in Renaissance Florence: Lucrezia Tornabuoni and the Chapel of the Medici Palace
238:
and their crowded trains making their way to Bethlehem, and include a number of portraits of the Medici family.
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by Lippi, for Lucrezia Tornabuoni Medici's cell at Camaldoli, c. 1463. 130 x 140 cm (51.1 by 55.1 inches); now
78:
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559:, as by Holmes, 178, but is usually now seen as Romuald, as by Hartt, 220, Verdon and Rossi, 56, and Solum.
186:
is perched on a stump at the front of the picture-space, near Jesus's foot; a common symbol in art for the
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in art, as the almost naked baby Jesus is placed on the ground, and "adored" by his mother
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Romuald was the founder of the Camoldolite order, named after their remote base at
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puts it, here there is "no cave, no shed, no Joseph, no angels, no ox, no ass".
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835:, Fulmar Television & Film tv programme for the BBC, with
861:, 1971 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London,
800:, (2nd edn.) 1987, Thames & Hudson (US Harry N Abrams),
355:
of the Palazzo Medici, flanked by parts of Gozzoli's frescos
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Solum – over 50 cut trees have been counted in the painting
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The painting was created at the height of the power of the
486:
Solum; the dating varies by a year or two between sources
555:
This last figure is still sometimes identified as Saint
339:
says that both paintings were commissions of Lucrezia.
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Above John the Baptist is the praying figure of Saint
781:
The Complete Catalogue of the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
1214:
1156:
Stories of Saint Stephen and Saint John the Baptist
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501:Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums)
1204:Triptych of the Madonna of Humility with Saints
118:. The lower part of his body is covered by a
933:
8:
896:, Penguin 1965 (page nos from BCA edn, 1979)
439:, the painting had a number of homes in the
392:John the Baptist Bids Farewell to his Family
831:The Private Life of a Christmas Masterpiece
940:
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230:that cover most of the other walls of the
1004:Madonna and Child with Angels and Saints
1268:Paintings in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
996:Penitent Saint Jerome with a Young Monk
812:Fra Filippo Lippi the Carmelite Painter
479:
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253:Medici, wife of the head of the family
1028:Annunciation with Two Kneeling Donors
154:(c.951 – c. 1025/27), founder of the
7:
859:Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I
284:hewn down, and cast into the fire. (
57:(c. 1406 – 1469) around 1459 as the
1188:Madonna of Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
892:, selected & ed. George Bull,
798:History of Italian Renaissance Art
14:
899:Verdon, Timothy, Rossi, Filippo,
110:The moment shown is known as the
16:c. 1459 painting by Filippo Lippi
622:Verdon and Rossi, 59; Hartt, 220
379:
360:
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281:bringeth not forth good fruit is
814:, 1999, Yale University Press,
443:before the new building of the
327:until his death in 1459, Saint
146:The signature on the axe handle
386:Lippi and workshop, fresco in
1:
1283:Paintings of the Holy Trinity
1278:Paintings of John the Baptist
1180:Adoration of the Christ Child
1164:Adoration of the Christ Child
249:. The Medici, in particular
202:The Camaldoli monastery, 1898
158:order of monks, to which the
649:Schiller, I, 125 and note 21
272:And now also the axe is laid
88:The painting is in oil on a
972:Enthroned Madonna and Child
275:unto the root of the trees:
35:The Adoration in the Forest
1299:
1253:Paintings by Filippo Lippi
894:Artists of the Renaissance
730:Private, 35:00; Berlin, 44
631:Hartt, 220; Private, 22:20
278:therefore every tree which
783:, 1986, Harry N. Abrams,
323:Another candidate is the
315:John the Baptist was the
1258:Nativity of Jesus in art
1175:(Florence; c. 1450–1465)
1044:Coronation of the Virgin
967:(Florence; c. 1430–1435)
845:Rachel Campbell-Johnston
79:Nativity of Jesus in art
1148:Funeral of Saint Jerome
586:Hartt, 220; Holmes, 180
497:"Die Anbetung im Walde"
432:National Gallery of Art
50:Adoration in the Forest
1115:(London; c. 1449–1459)
1055:(Munich; c. 1443–1450)
903:, 2005, Hudson Hills,
325:Archbishop of Florence
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224:Procession of the Magi
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112:Adoration of the Child
75:Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
38:
1227:Filippino Lippi (son)
1183:(Prato; c. 1455–1466)
1136:Adoration of the Magi
1107:(Parma; c. 1450–1455)
1080:Alessandri Altarpiece
1072:Michael the Archangel
1020:Marsuppini Coronation
1012:Martelli Annunciation
546:Hartt, 219–220; Solum
462:The Mystical Nativity
329:Antoninus of Florence
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95:The Mystical Nativity
24:
1139:(c. 1440–1460; with
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1036:Novitiate Altarpiece
980:Barbadori Altarpiece
557:Bernard of Clairvaux
451:was opened in 1998.
441:Berlin State Museums
73:. It is now in the
1068:Saint Anthony Abbot
901:Mary in Western Art
875:, 2017, Routledge,
371:by Lippi, c. 1455,
251:Lucrezia Tornabuoni
53:was painted by Fra
1196:Life of the Virgin
991:(Milan; 1437–1439)
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298:Camaldoli Nativity
286:Authorized Version
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1172:Madonna and Child
1128:Mystical Nativity
1104:Madonna and Child
1096:Madonna del Ceppo
911:, 9780971298194,
883:, 9781351536493,
871:Solum, Stefanie,
822:, 9780300081046,
640:Hartt, 220; Solum
467:Sandro Botticelli
369:Annalena Nativity
188:Passion of Christ
102:, now in London.
100:Sandro Botticelli
44:Mystical Nativity
31:Mystical Nativity
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1031:(1440–1445)
828:"Private",
703:Vasari, 136
449:Kulturforum
437:West Berlin
353:Magi Chapel
232:Magi Chapel
172:Holy Spirit
156:Camaldolese
137:Lamb of God
106:Description
65:in the new
63:Magi Chapel
1242:Categories
909:097129819X
881:1351536494
867:0853312702
849:45 minutes
837:Luke Syson
820:0300081049
806:0500235104
789:0810909723
779:"Berlin":
774:References
694:Hartt, 219
685:Hartt, 219
568:Hartt, 219
537:Berlin, 44
506:2024-04-23
208:papal bull
131:inscribed
59:altarpiece
1207:(c. 1470)
1167:(c. 1463)
1131:(c. 1459)
1015:(c. 1440)
1007:(c. 1440)
999:(c. 1439)
975:(c. 1437)
956:Paintings
469:, 1500–01
420:potassium
247:Apennines
243:Camaldoli
184:goldfinch
129:banderole
83:Bethlehem
37:, c. 1459
455:See also
170:and the
71:Florence
61:for the
1215:Related
447:at the
399:History
262:hermits
245:in the
222:of the
220:frescos
194:Context
152:Romuald
983:(1438)
907:
890:Vasari
879:
865:
833:(2010)
818:
804:
787:
422:mine.
337:Vasari
90:poplar
988:PietĂ
964:PietĂ
676:Solum
667:Solum
604:Solum
474:Notes
176:Hartt
120:gauzy
1070:and
905:ISBN
877:ISBN
863:ISBN
816:ISBN
802:ISBN
785:ISBN
367:The
296:The
116:Mary
41:The
25:Fra
465:by
226:by
210:of
98:by
69:in
47:or
33:or
1244::
857:,
843:,
839:,
796:,
499:.
390:,
312:.
268::
166:,
29:,
1143:)
941:e
934:t
927:v
851:)
509:.
426:"
288:)
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