Symbolism and Importance of the Rock Formation in Fra Fillipa Lippo's Madona and Child with Two Angels

Symbolism and Importance of the Rock Formation in Fra Fillipa Lippo's Madona And Child With Two Angels

The painting "Madonna with the Child and Two Angels" was painted by Fra Filippo Lippi around 1465, towards the end of his life (Lippi died in 1469) and represents a distinct break, both with Lippi's own tradition of painting religious works of art and with the way this had been done in the first decades of the 15th century. This paper will aim to analyze some of the elements of the painting and how they differ from previous works of art. More notably, the paper will aim to analyze the significance of the rock formation in the background and see how this is present in other paintings of the Renaissance as well. Finally, the paper will propose to explain the new approach of Lippi's painting from a socioeconomic perspective.

The entire painting is focused on the central figure of the Madonna, which, like many of Lippi's paintings, is inspired from the figure of Lippi's consort, Lucrezia Buti. She dominates the painting, being drawn from the upper right corner to the bottom left part of the work, thus gaining immediate attention from the viewer. There are several important differences in the way this Madonna is painted, as compared to others from earlier works of the artist, as well as earlier works of the Renaissance.

First of all, the Madonna here is fully of humanity, the painter moving away from an out-of-this-world interpretation for a much more down to earth and popular image of the Virgin Mary. Other than the actual features of Madonna's face, one should also pay attention to the fact that her halo is barely sketched: it is visible, but not emphasized, like in many other paintings by Lippi and other Renaissance artists and it is also hollow rather than filled with a golden paint. Several other realistic elements include the veil that is present on the Madonna's head. The child and angels as well seem to have a bucolic appearance, with a somewhat naive approach from the painter in his artistic representation.

The background reflects, to some degree, the usual patterns of similar paintings from the Renaissance, where the figures in the foreground are placed against a background that may contain, depending on the case, a landscape, an Italian town or a combination of both, as is the case here. The landscape occasionally contains are elements, including man-made ones, such as a road, as it appears in Lippi's painting (the winding element could also be a river). The painting is symmetrical between the foreground and the background, with the background occupying the upper half of the painting and the foreground the lower half.

The rock formation behind the forefront group of characters has not only a religious significance, but also an aesthetic one. First of all, the rock formation acts as the background to the front image of the Madonna and child, along with the two angels. While the viewer initially looks at the figure of the Madonna (the largest of the four characters and occupying most of the forefront of the picture, as well as going from the upper left corner to the bottom right corner), his glance will eventually move to discover the background of the figures and this is partly covered by the rock formation on the right of the painting.

The background in Christian paintings of the Renaissance period is usually a landscape, quite often with rocks and, occasionally, with a town or Italian city of the times. Otherwise, the background could be formed of ornamental architectural constructions, like a throne or an archway. The main scope of the background is, in fact, to frame the figures and provide a spatial perspective for them. This is perhaps clearest in Leonardo da Vinci's "Madonna of the Rocks," where the figure of the Virgin is centrally placed, corresponding to the most impressive and most solid rock of the cave behind. Even if the rock formation here is not symmetrical, it nevertheless provides the appropriate frame for the Madonna and the three other figures.

The rock formation in Fillipo Lippi's painting is part of the frame that the painter wants to provide for the figures in the foreground. The Madonna, Child and angels are placed here against a window, with the landscape outside providing the background for them. The rock formations on the right are thus a part of this background. Although not a central piece of the painting, the rock formation occupies a significant part of the background and, as such, it definitely gains the viewer's attention, including because the formation is placed immediately next to the head of the Virgin Mary.

Other than the aesthetic role of the rock formation in Lippi's painting, the religious and symbolical role should not be ignored. Peter is often referred to as the Rock of the Christian Church, including by Christ, which is most likely a symbolical intention of emphasizing how solid and unchanging he is in his Christian faith and dedication. The Bible in its entirety proposes a wide amount of references to rocks and mountains. This includes Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on top of the mountain and saints usually leading a life of seclusion and faith in mountainous solitary regions.

In other paintings of the Renaissance period, the rocks in the formation are actually very carefully placed to reflect either a certain esoteric shape (Leonardo da Vinci, for example, occasionally places the rocks in a pyramid shape, a certain esoteric allusion) or more Biblical references. In Leonardo's "Virgin of the Rocks," for example, the rocks are placed in a certain manner below the feet of the characters in order to suggest an abyss below and, going further with the religious allusion, pointing to the fall of the angels in the Bible

In my opinion, in Fillipo Lippi's painting, the rock formation does not have a specific symbolic role, but is rather placed in the paintings so as to give the painting more of a religious feeling and atmosphere. Without such subtle allusions, the painting would probably be hardly considered a religious one. As previously mentioned, the religious symbols are few and relatively underplayed. The figures themselves do not have the otherwise heavy halo that predominated early Renaissance, such as in the paintings by Masaccio in the first decades of the 15th century. The halos are barely sketched and the Madonna has nothing of the religiousness and profoundly mysterious appearance that is usually the characteristics of its representation in religious painting. Note also that the halos are only for the Madonna and child, in a usual religious interpretation: angels do not have halos, they are not saintly per se.

Rather than use strongly emphasized religious symbols, Lippi prefers religious allusions. Given the fact that this is still the 15th century and the commission implied a religious painting, he still needs to include the halos, but these are barely sketched, as mentioned. Additionally, he adds are such allusions, like the rock formations in the background, a clear sign of the religiousness of the painting. This argument is also supported by the fact that the other clear element that would obviously show the religious structure of the painting are the angel's wings. However, these are also barely painted: on purpose, Lippi shows only the upper end of the wings, with the rest out of the painting. The wings of the second angel are also not shown. The bottom line conclusion would be that he prefers religious elements that are less well emphasized.

It is not only interesting to compare this work with some of Masaccio's work at the beginning of the 15th century, but also with some of Lippi's own work, such as "Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels." In this painting, Lippi maintains all the necessary elements of a religious painting and does so in an emphatic manner. First of all, the Madonna has none of the realism and humanity of the Madonna in the painting being analyzed here, but rather the out-of-the-world figure the viewer is used to from other religious paintings of the time. The halos are prominent, golden and emphasized. As a consequence, the painter feels no need to use symbolism and allusions, such as rock formations, but rather places the Madonna, child and angels against a throne background, a practice often used, as previously shown.

Putting the analyzed painting in a socioeconomic perspective, there are several elements that could be considered. First of all, one needs to consider the temporal perspective: compared to Masaccio, where, as previously shown, the religious symbolism is strongly emphasized, Lippi paints in the second half of the 15th century. New philosophical approaches have been promoted in the meantime, including some that challenge the traditional role of the Christian Church. Such events included the Hussite Wars in Bohemia and the new approach that Copernicus promotes in terms of the place of the Earth in the Universe. These are certainly not enough to replace the Church and limit its power, but they do bring about a more liberal approach, a more permissive line that painters such as Lippi can incorporate in their works.

On the other hand, the geographical element needs to be discussed as well. Lippi works in Florence during the time of the Medici (and not any Medici, but the one who encouraged and promoted arts the most, Lorenzo de Medici), and not in Rome. As such, he does not fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, but under that of the Medici, which means that he can enjoy a higher degree of liberalism in his works.