Paper

Student Artwork Guide

The Wounded Centaur

Filippino Lippi, 1500

Name Class Date
Filippino Lippi, The Wounded Centaur (1500). Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Filippino Lippi topimpressionists.com/en/artists/filippino-lippi/
Artist’s dates
1457 – 1504
Painted
1500

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Filippino Lippi died in 1504; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1574.

Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Oct. 6, 2026

The Wounded Centaur — Filippino Lippi Part 1 · The artwork

In context

The Wounded Centaur — Filippino Lippi

When was this painted?

  1. 1450
  2. 1460
  3. 1470
  4. 1480
  5. 1490
  6. 1500

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 47 at death.

Painted when the artist was 43. The artist lived to 47. 104 of the 112 dated works by this artist in our catalogue came earlier.

Shaded: the lifetime of Filippino Lippi (1457–1504) ▲ this work, 1500 every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1485 Main working years: 1485–1489 Late works: from 1489

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: topimpressionists.com/en/art/similar/filippino-lippi-the-wounded-centaur-8LHUAD-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Plum #c5b2ba

    Catalogued palette

    • #C5B2BA
    • #7B6231
    • #8D816F
    • #3B2F1E

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Earthy The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Plum
    Intensity
    Balanced How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Bold How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Strong Color Unity How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Balanced How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Balanced Soft How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Filippino Lippi over the last twelve months — 15 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 61.1%
    2. 2 United States of America 9.3%
    3. 3 Hong Kong 5.6%
    4. 4 France 3.7%
    5. 5 Brazil 1.9%
    6. 6 Belarus 1.9%
    7. 7 Germany 1.9%
    8. 8 Spain 1.9%
    9. 9 Finland 1.9%
    10. 10 Italy 1.9%
    11. · 5 other countries 8.9%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Filippino Lippi

    1. 1 St Jerome, 1490 10.7%
    2. 2 Portrait of an Old Man, 1485 6.0%
    3. 3 The Coronation of the Virgin, 1480 6.0%
    4. 4 Triumph of St Thomas Aquinas over the Heretics (detail), 1489 3.6%
    5. 5 Virgin from the Annunciation, 1483 3.6%
    6. 6 Adoration of the Child, 1480 3.6%
    7. 7 Adoration of the Magi (detail), 1496 3.6%
    8. 8 Triumph of St Thomas Aquinas over the Heretics (detail), 1489 3.6%
    9. 9 Assumption (detail), 1489 3.6%
    10. 10 Assumption (detail) (8), 1489 3.6%
    11. 11 Adoration of the Magi (detail), 1496 2.4%
    12. 12 Triumph of St Thomas Aquinas over the Heretics (detail), 1489 2.4%
    13. 13 Assumption, 1489 2.4%
    14. 14 Annunciation (detail), 1489 2.4%
    15. 15 Three Scenes from the Story of Virginia 2.4%
    16. 16 The Rest on the Flight into Egypt 2.4%
    17. 17 Crucifixion of St Philip, 1487 2.4%
    18. 18 The Meeting of Joachim and Anne outside the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, 1497 1.2%
    19. 19 Madonna and Child, 1483 1.2%
    20. — The Wounded Centaur, 1500 this painting 0.0%

    Together these works take 67.1% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 166 works by this artist, of which 47 were looked at at least once. This painting has not been looked at yet in that time — it closes the list without a rank. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Oct. 6, 2026

    The Wounded Centaur — Filippino Lippi Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Filippino Lippi

    Born in Prato, Italy

    Early Life and Training

    Born: April 1457, Prato, Italy

    Died: April 1504

    Parents: Fra Filippo Lippi (painter) and Lucrezia Buti

    Filippino was the illegitimate son of a renowned painter.

    Early training under his father laid the foundation for his artistic career.

    Artistic Career and Development

    Early Period (1475-1480): Initial works, such as Madonnas, showed a less refined style. These were initially attributed to an anonymous artist known as "amico di Sandro."

    Evolution (1480-1485): Development of a more personal and effective approach in works like the Journeys of Tobias.

    Maturity (1485-1504): Mastery of the High Renaissance style, exemplified by The Apparition of Christ to the Virgin.

    Major Works and Collaborations

    Collaboration with Perugino, Ghirlandaio, and Botticelli on frescoes at Lorenzo de' Medici’s villa.

    Completion of Masaccio's unfinished decoration in the Brancacci Chapel alongside Masolino.

    Notable works include: The Coronation of the Virgin, Tobias and the Angel, St Jerome, and Scene from the Life of St Thomas Aquinas.

    Influences and Artistic Style

    Early Influences: Sandro Botticelli, Fra Filippo Lippi.

    Style Characteristics: Animated form and line, warm colorism, detailed landscapes, expressive figures, and a blend of perspective geometry with intimate interiors.

    Roman Antiquities: Studies after Roman antiquities during his time in Rome influenced his work, incorporating an antique vocabulary into his art.

    Historical Significance and Legacy

    A leading Florentine exponent of the tradition of great fresco cycles.

    His influence on the High Renaissance is undeniable.

    Works are found in museums worldwide, including the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

    Known for bridging the gap between earlier Renaissance styles and the emerging High Renaissance aesthetic.

    Where to read more

    • The artist Filippino Lippi topimpressionists.com/en/artists/filippino-lippi/
    • Similar works More works to compare topimpressionists.com/en/art/similar/filippino-lippi-the-wounded-centaur-8LHUAD-en/

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for The Wounded Centaur

    topimpressionists.com/en/art/download/filippino-lippi-the-wounded-centaur-8LHUAD-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Lippi, Filippino. The Wounded Centaur. 1500, https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/filippino-lippi-the-wounded-centaur-8LHUAD-en/
    APA
    Lippi, Filippino (1500). The Wounded Centaur [Painting]. https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/filippino-lippi-the-wounded-centaur-8LHUAD-en/
    Chicago
    Filippino Lippi. The Wounded Centaur. 1500. https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/filippino-lippi-the-wounded-centaur-8LHUAD-en/
    Harvard
    Lippi, Filippino (1500) The Wounded Centaur. Available at: https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/filippino-lippi-the-wounded-centaur-8LHUAD-en/

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Oct. 6, 2026

    The Wounded Centaur — Filippino Lippi Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    The Wounded Centaur — Filippino Lippi

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. How many faces can you find? ____ (our catalogue counts 1 — do you agree?)
    4. Look back at Madonna and Child (1483), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Filippino Lippi was about 43 when this was made. What in it looks like the work of an artist at that stage?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Oct. 6, 2026

    The Wounded Centaur — Filippino Lippi Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    How saturated is the palette of "The Wounded Centaur"?

    The palette of "The Wounded Centaur" is balanced soft in saturation.

    How is the color composition of "The Wounded Centaur" by Filippino Lippi built?

    In "The Wounded Centaur", a bold contrast is paired with a strong color unity harmony.

    Is a download available for "The Wounded Centaur"?

    The image of "The Wounded Centaur" by Filippino Lippi can be downloaded from the artwork's Download page: a high-resolution digital image download.