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. Object Type: painting. Genre: religious art. Date: 1458. Place of creation: Italy, Florence, 15th century. Dimensions: Framed: 94 x 40 x 6.5 cm (37 x 15 3/4 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 81.3 x 29.8 cm (32 x 11 3/4 in.). Medium: tempera on wood panel. Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art. Clevelandart 1964.150.1
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