Masaccio

Masaccio, born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who lived from December 21, 1401, until the summer of 1428. He is known as the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period during the Italian Renaissance.

Masaccio was famous for making his paintings look very real. He showed lifelike figures and movements and gave his paintings a strong three-dimensional feel.

His name Masaccio means "clumsy" or "messy" Tom. People used this name to tell him apart from his collaborator, who was known as Masolino, meaning "little/delicate Tom." Even though Masaccio's career was short, his work influenced many other artists. He was one of the first to use a special way of drawing called linear perspective with a vanishing point. This helped his paintings look more real.

Masaccio moved away from the fancy, decorated style used by other artists at the time, like Gentile da Fabriano. Instead, he used techniques such as chiaroscuro to create more realistic scenes. He passed away at the age of twenty-six, and not much is known about how he died. When Filippo Brunelleschi heard about Masaccio's death, he felt it was a big loss.

Early life

Masaccio was born to Giovanni di Simone Cassai and Jacopa di Martinozzo in Castel San Giovanni di Altura, now San Giovanni Valdarno (today part of the province of Arezzo, Tuscany). His father was a notary and his mother the daughter of an innkeeper of Barberino di Mugello, a town a few miles north of Florence. Sadly, his father passed away in 1406 when Masaccio was only five. Later that year he had a brother named Giovanni (1406–1486), who would also become a painter and was known as Lo Scheggia, meaning "the splinter."

We do not know much about how Masaccio learned to paint. During the Renaissance, young artists usually started with a master painter around age 12. Masaccio likely moved to Florence to learn. He became a master painter on January 7, 1422, when he joined the painters guild (the Arte de' Medici e Speziali) and signed his name as "Masus S. Johannis Simonis pictor populi S. Nicholae de Florentia."

First works

The first known works by Masaccio are the San Giovenale Triptych from 1422. It is kept in the Masaccio Museum of Sacred Art in Cascia di Reggello near Florence. We can still see Masaccio’s skill in making the figures look three-dimensional. The painting shows the Virgin and Child with angels and several saints.

San Giovenale Triptych (1422)

The second work may have been Masaccio’s first teamwork with the older artist, Masolino da Panicale. In the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, called Sant'Anna Metterza, Masolino likely painted Saint Anne and the angels. Masaccio painted the Virgin and Child. Masolino’s style is lighter, while Masaccio’s figures appear stronger. This painting is at the Uffizi. It also shows influence from Giotto.

Maturity

In Florence, Masaccio studied the works of Giotto and became friends with Brunelleschi and Donatello. In 1423, he traveled to Rome with Masolino. This helped him change his style. You can see this change in his altarpiece for the Carmelite Church in Pisa. Some of his paintings show ideas from ancient Roman and Greek art, probably from his trip to Rome. One of his important works, called the Sagra, was made for a church in Florence. It was later destroyed when the church was rebuilt.

Brancacci Chapel

The Tribute Money, fresco in the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence

In 1424, Masaccio and Masolino were asked to paint pictures for the Brancacci Chapel in Florence. They started around 1425. The pictures show stories from the life of St. Peter and scenes with Adam and Eve. Masaccio made the people in the paintings look very real by using new ways to show depth and space.

Some important paintings include The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve leave the garden, and The Tribute Money, with Jesus and his followers. Masolino left the project in 1425 to go to Hungary, and Masaccio left in 1426 for other work. When Masaccio returned in 1427, he left a painting unfinished. Some paintings were lost in a fire in 1771, but parts were found again later.

Pisa Altarpiece

On February 19, 1426, Masaccio was asked to paint a big artwork called the Pisa Altarpiece. A man named Giuliano paid him for this work to go in his chapel at the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Pisa. Sadly, much of this artwork was taken apart long ago, and only eleven pieces have been found again.

The main piece, called The Madonna and Child, is now kept in the National Gallery in London. Even though it is damaged, it shows a lovely Madonna and Child with a well-made throne. Masaccio likely worked on this while also working in Florence. During this time, another artist named Donatello was also creating art in Pisa. Some believe Masaccio learned new ways to make things look real from Donatello before studying even more about perspective from Brunelleschi.

Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity, in full: Trinity with the Virgin, Saint John the Evangelist, and Donors (c. 1427) – Fresco, Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Around 1427, Masaccio was asked to paint a special picture called the Holy Trinity for a church in Florence. This painting is important because it was one of the first to use a new way of showing depth called linear perspective.

In the painting, there are holy figures and two people who wanted the painting made. Below them is a picture of a skeleton. The words above the skeleton say, “I once was what now you are and what I am, you shall yet be,” which means that everyone will one day face the same fate. The painting shows that belief can help people think about this. Above Jesus, there is a dove representing the Holy Spirit. The scene reminds viewers of a special place in Jerusalem.

Other paintings

Masaccio made two other paintings, called the Nativity and an Annunciation, but these are lost today. He traveled to Rome where his friend Masolino was painting scenes about St. Catherine in the Basilica di San Clemente. We don’t know if Masaccio helped with that work, but he may have worked on a special painting for the altar of Santa Maria Maggiore.

This painting showed St. Jerome and St. John the Baptist and is now kept in the National Gallery in London. Masaccio passed away at the end of 1428. Only four paintings that Masaccio definitely painted still exist today. Many more works may have been lost.

Legacy

Masaccio had a big impact on painting and helped start the Early Italian Renaissance. He made Italian painting more natural and realistic. Many artists were inspired by his work. Famous artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo studied his paintings in the Brancacci chapel. People believe Masaccio could have done even more if he had lived longer.