The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Panel from a Triptych: St. Anthony Abbot

1458

Fra Filippo Lippi

(Italian, c. 1406–1469)
Italy, 15th century
tempera on wood panel
Framed: 94 x 40 x 6.5 cm (37 x 15 3/4 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 81.3 x 29.8 x 3 cm (32 x 11 3/4 x 1 3/16 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1964.150.2
Location: Not on view

Description

These panels depicting Saints Anthony the Abbot and Michael originally flanked a central scene of the Madonna and Child with Angels, now lost, to form a triptych. Giovanni di Cosimo de’Medici of Florence commissioned the ensemble in 1457 as a gift to Alfonso V of Aragon. Fra Filippo Lippi, a Carmelite friar and one of the great masters of early Renaissance Florence, depicted realistic, weighty figures in a three-dimensional space using a system of linear perspective, inspired partly by Masaccio’s Brancacci Chapel, and reflected in the background architecture. Saint Anthony the Abbot rejected all earthly possessions in pursuit of a contemplative life in the desert. He is generally regarded as the founder of monasticism and is depicted wearing a monk’s habit. Saint Michael’s sword and shield refer to his role as heaven’s defender against evil.
  • by 1457
    Commissioned by Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici, Florence, as a gift for King Alfonso V of Aragon (Alfonso I of Naples)
    by 1458
    Collection of King Alfonso V of Aragon (Alfonso I of Naples), Naples
    by 1871
    Collection of Countess Sara Pacheco, Madrid
    1871
    Purchased by Sir John Charles Robinson, Madrid, for Sir Fancis Cook, Soughty House, Richmond, Surrey
    By descent to Sir Frederick Cook, Sir Herbert Cook, and their heirs
    by 1964
    Rosenberg & Stiebel Inc., New York
    1964
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 79 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 79 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 1. European Paintings before 1500. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Reproduced: fig. 30A, p. 80 - 83
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 90 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. “Fra Filippo Lippi’s Saints: Altarpiece panels by the Florentine master started life as a political gift.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 55, no. 5 (September/October 2015): 14-15. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 14-15 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 276
  • Masterpieces of European Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Beachwood, OH (March 29-July 8, 2007).
    Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage (March 29, 2007 - July 8, 2007): "Masterpieces of European Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art"
    Masterpieces of European Painting from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Frick Collection, New York, NY (organizer) (November 8, 2006-January 28, 2007).
    "Masterpieces of European Painting from The Cleveland Museum of Art": The Frick Collection (11/8/2006 - 1/28/2007), exh. cat. no. 1, p. 20-23.
    Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).
    Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965).
  • {{cite web|title=Panel from a Triptych: St. Anthony Abbot|url=false|author=Fra Filippo Lippi|year=1458|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.150.2