About this item

An extraordinary story of passion, art, and intrigue, this novel journeys to a time and place in Italy where desire reigns supreme -- and salvation is found in the strangest of places. Beauty can be a gift -- or a wicked temptation. So it is for Filippo Lippi, growing up in Renaissance Florence. He has a talent -- not only can he see the beauty in everything, he can capture it, paint it. But while beauty can seduce you and art can transport you -- it cannot always feed you or protect you.To survive, Pippo Lippi, orphan, street urchin, budding rogue, must first become Fra Filippo Lippi: Carmelite friar, man of God. His life will take him down two paths at once. He will become a gambler, a forger, a seducer of nuns; and at the same time he will be the greatest painter of his time, the teacher of Botticelli and the confidante of the Medicis.So who is he really -- lover, believer, father, teacher, artist? Is anything true except the paintings?