[1][2][3][4] It is one of the few works by Lippi which was not executed with the help of his workshop and was an influential model for later depictions of the Madonna and Child, including those by Sandro Botticelli.

Although art historian Ulmann believes that Fra Filippo presented the Uffizi Madonna to Giovanni to thank him for acting as an intermediary between him and the King of Naples, Edward C. Strutt states that this belief is incorrect.

[1] The group of Madonna and Child is, unusually for the period, placed in front of an open window beyond which is a landscape inspired to Flemish painting.

[7] The Madonna sits on a chair, at the window of a house located on a hilltop, which offers a view of an elaborate landscape of “plains, distant mountains, a city and a bay”.

She is wearing an elaborate coiffure with a soft veil and pearls: these elements, along with her costume, represent the elegance of the mid-1400s and were re-used in numerous late 15th century works in Florence.

The colors are applied in bold strokes, that almost look independent from each other, which shows that Fra Filippo was “taking very little trouble to ensure harmonious blending of the various tints”, which is a characteristic of frescoes.

The composition of the painting is of pyramidal shape, and the foreground and background are arranged in a way that suggest that Fra Filippo was also influenced by the methods of Donatello’s school.

However, Bernard Berenson argues that “the relationship between bride and groom is not as the Virgin Mary and Christ but rather as the individual devout soul and God”.

[4] Finally, Jonathan Jones argues that the Madonna is “one of the most beautiful paintings of the Renaissance” and an exemplification of the humanizing of religion that dates back to Giotto.