Filippino Lippi (Italian, 1457 – 1504)

Lucca, Chiesa di San Michele in Foro

In 1482, Filippino Lippi painted the Fours Saints Altarpiece also known as the Pala Magrini; depicting the saints Roch, Sebastian, Jerome, and Helena. “Pala” is an Italian term used to refer to a single panel altarpiece. Filipino painted this altarpiece in “tempera”, a technique in which pigments are mixed with a water-soluble binder, typically egg yolk or egg white, to create a paint medium. Used before “oil painting” became popular. This beautiful painting can be seen in the Chiesa di San Michele in Foro, Lucca, Italy.

The saints from left to right:

Saint Roch (San Rocco) is a Christian saint, often invoked against the plague. According to tradition, he cared for the sick during an outbreak of the plague in Italy, risking his own life. He is typically depicted with an enlarged lymph node on his thigh, symbolizing the plague, and with a pilgrim’s staff.

Saint Sebastian (San Sebastiano) is another Christian saint, known for his martyrdom, symbolized on the painting by the palm leave he is holding. He was a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity and was subsequently martyred for his faith. He is commonly depicted as a young man tied to a tree or column and pierced by arrows. Despite being left for dead, Sebastian survived and continued to profess his faith. Here he is recognoized by holding an arrow. 

Saint Jerome (San Girolamo) is one of the four Church Fathers and best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin, known as the Vulgate. He spent much of his life in study and contemplation, and he is often depicted with a lion, representing a famous legend in which he removed a thorn from the paw of a lion.

Saint Helena (Sant’Elena) was the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. She is renowned for her pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where she is said to have discovered the True Cross, the cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. She is often depicted holding a cross.

A viewer from the 15th century, living in an era plagued by the Black Death, would interpret this altarpiece by reading it from left to right: Roch and Sebastian are depicted surviving wounds, reminiscent of the lesions caused by the plague. The message conveyed is that such salvation can be attained through faith in the Word of the Bible (represented by Jerome) and the Cross (depicted by Helena).

Filippino Lippi – “Filippino” to avoid confusion with his father Fra Filippo Lippi – was an Italian Renaissance painter, born around 1457 in Florence, Italy, and died in 1504. He was the illegimate son of the renowned painter Fra Filippo Lippi. Filippino trained under his father’s guidance and later under Sandro Botticelli, another prominent Florentine artist. Filippino Lippi’s style was influenced by both his father and Botticelli. The figure of Helena on the Pala Magrini looks like Botticelli’s Primavera.

The church of San Michele in Foro is a church located on Piazza San Michele in Lucca, Italy, on the site where the Roman forum was situated. It is particularly known for its richly decorated façade or front. Partly due to the use of various types and colors of marble on the exterior and the front, this church is considered by many Tuscans to be one of the most beautiful churches in Tuscany. In 1070, construction began by order of Pope Alexander II, who was bishop of Lucca for four years. However, it was never completed: because too much money was spent on the church’s facade, there was not much left for the rest of the church.

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