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Vision of St. Philip Neri

Orazio Fidani, Lorenzo Lippi 1656

Audio description of the artwork

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The main subject of this canvas by Orazio Fidani is the apparition of the Madonna with the Child to St. Philip Neri, a very common representation during 17th century, thanks to the famous prototype painted by the Bolognese artist Guido Reni in 1614 for St. Mary in Vallicella in Rome – the principal church of the Oratorians, a religious congregation of priests founded by St. Philip Neri. What makes this painting particularly important for Prato’s history is its setting: this mystic vision takes place in Prato’s Cathedral Square.

Technical information

Author: Orazio Fidani, Lorenzo Lippi
Title: Vision of St. Philip Neri
Date: 1656
Material and technique: Oil on canvas
Size: 188x135 cm
Location: Palazzo Pretorio Museum
Ground Floor

Orazio Fidani was one of the best-known artists in mid-17th century Florence, both for his talent and his authoritativeness. The choice made by Lorenzo Calvi, father of the Oratory of Santa Caterina de’Ricci e San Filippo Neri, of such a renowned artist for such a delicate commission was significant. The painting, in facts, was emblematic of the spiritual needs arising after 1653, celebrating the historical moment in which Grand Duke Ferdinando II de’ Medici granted Prato the privilege of becoming a “city”.

The composition required an accurate representation of the procession in the Cathedral square which had followed the solemn entry into Prato on 4th January 1653 of the first bishop, Monsignor Gerini. The scene was reproduced in a small format in the left part of the painting; above this is a placid image of the Madonna with Child. This image is studded with angels and wrapped in a delicate chiaroscuro which extends to the main figure, St. Philip Neri, who is kneeling in the foreground and invoking the Virgin Mary’s protection of the town in front of a bunch of white lilies.

This painting is one of the last works of Orazio FIdani, who died suddently at the beginning of 1656, leaving it unfinished; the altarpiece was then completed by the young painter Lorenzo Lippi, chosen by the same father Calvi because his ability to reproduce Fidani’s style.