Fra Filippo Lippi (c.1406–69) is one of the greatest artists of the early Renaissance in Italy. A pioneer of psychological realism, he developed unique and daring means of representation, discarding medieval traditions about the role of colour in painting. His intensely personal, richly expressive characters are a compelling revelation of Renaissance attitudes towards human experience.

Jeffrey Ruda s work, first published in 1993, was the first full-scale study of Lippi to be published for many years, and provided an important reassessment of his life and work; it also attempted to define the nature of Lippi s greatness as a portrayer of the subtleties of human feeling, and to place his achievement in the wider context of early Renaissance art. Ruda s landmark survey – still an invaluable work of reference – is now being reissued in an abridged paperback format, so those who do not require the full art-historical analysis of the original catalogue section can enjoy its beautiful colour plates and fascinating narrative text at an amazingly competitive price.