The Udienza altarpiece: the Madonna with child and saints Stephen and John the Baptist

This tempera on wood by Filippino Lippi is currently on display at the Civic Museum in Prato. It is called the “Udienza altarpiece” because it comes from the public audience room, or Sala d’Udienza, in the municipal building in Prato. The semicircle altarpiece in wood was made upon the wishes of Antonio Vannocchi de' Rochis, who later commissioned the work to Filippino Lippi, an artist who was born in Prato.

The wood panel, which has a gilded frame, depicts the Madonna and child, who is wearing dark blue clothing, at its centre. On either side of them are John the Baptist, who has a long beard and is kneeling toward Jesus with a cross in his hands, and Saint Stephen, the patron saint of Prato.