\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 Painted for the altar of the Barbadori family in the sacristy of the Florentine church of Santo Spirito, the panel presents a lavish c
omposition of great scenic effect. Set inside a frame that by now merely hints at the divisions of the Gothic triptych, we see the Virgin, standing in front of the throne and holding the Child in her arms. She is flanked by six graceful angels holding bu
nches of lilies in their long and slender hands. In the foreground kneel the two saints: Frediano and Augustine. The small figures of several friars are visible behind the rich marble balustrade. It has been suggested that the one on the left, with dark
hair and his back turned to the observer, is a self-portrait of the painter Filippo Lippi, who used to be a monk in the Carmelite monastery in Florence. The space is closed off, at the back, by a wall decorated with panels of imitation marble, but a clou
dy sky can be glimpsed through an open window on the left. Frediano, in the foreground on the left, is the patron saint of the Florentine quarter in which the church of Santo Spirito, for which the picture was commissioned, is located. St. Augustine, on
the right, is included because he was the founder of the order of Augustinian monks housed in the same church of Santo Spirito.
