A Gift for the Magus

Fra Filippo Lippi is no-one's idea of a model friar. Gambler, cheat, womanizer, he yet produced some of the most divine art. This is the story of how, under the guidance - and provocation - of his patron, Cosimo de' Medici, Filippo transcends his bodily appetites to make paintings for the soul. Meanwhile he is abducting the nun who models for him - or is he? The book examines common ideas of goodness and finds them wanting.