Artists
Masaccio
- Country:
- Italy
- Birth year:
- 1401
- Death year:
- 1428
Masaccio (1401 San Giovanni Valdarno, Arezzo-1428 Rome), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni Cassai, in one of the most revolutionary painters of his era and is granted the title of the founder of Renaissance painting. In 1422 he became a member of the Florentine guild of doctors and apothecaries, and two years later he entered the painters' Guild of St. Luke. During this period he worked closely with Masolino, but at the end of 1427 Masaccio went on to Rome, where he died shorltly thereafter. The painter was greatly inspired by the sculptore Donatello (1386-1466) and his friend, the master builder Filippo Brunellesci (1376-1446). Masaccio was the first to succeed in uniting emphatically aculpted figures with a perspectivally-constructed space. He also portrayed both architecture and lanscape realistically, although in fact they exist only to serve and emphasize the events presented in the pictures. Also characheristic of Masaccio's works is a simple lighting and strict observance of central perspective. Several paintings remained unfinished at his death. The artist's works include Triptych San Giovenale, 1422, Peve di San Pietro, Cascia de Reggello; Adoration of the Magi, 1426, Gemalde galerie, SMPK, Berlin; and Enthroned Madonna, 1426/27, The National Gallery, London.