Abstract

In 1459, Filippo Lippi painted the altarpiece The Adoration of Infant Christ for the chapel of Palazzo Medici, which was the private palace of Cosimo de' Medici. Considering the famous fresco cycle of the Journey of Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli in the same chapel, evidently Lippi's altarpiece represents the traditional Christian theme of the Nativity. But, compared with other contemporary paintings, it has two unusual iconographical aspects. The first is the appearance of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Infant John the Baptist. The second is the setting in which this holy event happens. Why did Lippi paint two saints and the setting of a dark forest? Concerning the question of these two saints, the most important reason was the political ambitions of the Medici. Traditionally, these two saints were very important for the city. The Medici gave political and public character to their chapel by depicting the saints in the altarpiece. As for the question of the forest setting, in the 15th century, these two saints were recognized to have a deep relationship with Nature or the forest. So the forest setting was very natural for them. It functions as a device that makes the characters in this holy event harmonize