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 his skill in making his paintings look very real, showing lifelike figures and movements and giving a strong sense that things looked three-dimensional.

His name Masaccio means "clumsy" or "messy" Tom and was used to tell him apart from his collaborator, who was known as Masolino, meaning "little/delicate Tom." Even though Masaccio's career was very short, his work had a big effect on 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, and instead 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 said, "We have suffered a great 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, and later that year he gained a sibling named Giovanni (1406–1486), who would also become a painter and was known as Lo Scheggia, meaning "the splinter."

There isn’t much known about how Masaccio learned to paint, but during the Renaissance, young artists usually started training with a master painter around age 12. Although we don’t have records of Masaccio in Florence until later, he likely moved there to learn. He officially became a master painter himself 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, now kept in the Masaccio Museum of Sacred Art in Cascia di Reggello near Florence, and the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (called Sant'Anna Metterza) from around 1424, which is at the Uffizi.

The San Giovenale altarpiece was found in 1961 in a church close to Masaccio's home town. It shows the Virgin and Child with angels, along with several saints. Even though the painting is worn, we can still see Masaccio’s skill in making the figures look three-dimensional, showing influence from Giotto.

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, Masolino likely painted Saint Anne and the angels, while Masaccio painted the Virgin and Child. Masolino’s style is lighter and flatter, while Masaccio’s figures appear stronger and more solid.

Maturity

In Florence, Masaccio studied the works of Giotto and became friends with Brunelleschi and Donatello. In 1423, he traveled to Rome with Masolino, which helped him move away from older styles. This change can be seen in his altarpiece for the Carmelite Church in Pisa. Some of his works show influences from ancient Roman and Greek art, likely from this trip. One of his important pieces, called the Sagra, was made for a church in Florence but was later destroyed when the church was rebuilt.

Brancacci Chapel

In 1424, Masaccio and Masolino were asked to paint a set of pictures for the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. They began painting around 1425. The pictures show stories from the life of St. Peter, and also include scenes with Adam and Eve. Masaccio’s style made the people in the paintings look very real, using new ways to show depth and space.

Some important works in the chapel include The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve are shown leaving the garden, and The Tribute Money, featuring 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 another painting unfinished. Some of the paintings were lost in a fire in 1771, but parts were rediscovered 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

Around 1427, Masaccio was chosen to create a special painting called the Holy Trinity for a church in Florence. This painting is very important because it was one of the first to use a special way of showing depth called linear perspective, which might have been Masaccio’s idea with help from another artist.

In the painting, there are holy figures and two people who asked for the painting to be made. Below them is a picture of a skeleton on a stone box. 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 believing in the Holy Trinity can help people overcome this truth. Above Jesus, there is a dove representing the Holy Spirit. The whole scene reminds viewers of a special chapel in Jerusalem.

Other paintings

Masaccio created two other paintings, called the Nativity and an Annunciation, but these are now lost. He traveled to Rome where his friend Masolino was painting scenes about St. Catherine in the Basilica di San Clemente. It’s not certain 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. There is a story that says a rival painter may have done something harmful to him, but this is just a legend.

Only four paintings that Masaccio definitely painted still exist today. Many more works are thought to have been lost or destroyed.

Legacy

Masaccio had a big impact on painting and helped start the Early Italian Renaissance. He changed Italian painting by making it more natural and realistic, moving away from the old, idealized styles. Many artists were inspired by his work, both during his lifetime and after. Famous artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo studied his paintings in the Brancacci chapel. People believe Masaccio could have achieved even more if he had lived longer.

Main works

• San Giovenale Triptych (1422) – a painting on wood, Cascia di Reggello

• Madonna with Child (1424) – a small painting, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

• Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (1424–1425) – a large painting, Uffizi, Florence

• The Tribute Money (1424–1428) – a wall painting, Brancacci Chapel, Florence

• Holy Trinity (1425–1428) – a big wall painting, Santa Maria Novella, Florence

• Portrait of a Young Man (1425) – a painting on wood, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

• Madonna with Child and Angel (1426) – a painting, National Gallery, London

• Crucifixion (around 1426) – a painting, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples

• St. Paul (1426) – a painting, Museo Nazionale, Pisa

• St. Jerome and St. John the Baptist (around 1426–1428) – a painting, National Gallery, London

• Nativity (Berlin Tondo) (1427–1428) – a round painting, Staatliche Museen, Berlin

• St Andrew – a painting, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles