Masaccio

Masaccio was one of the earliest masters within European art and created an impressive collection of works from such a short life

Masaccio was around at the start of the 13th century when the Italian Renaissance was in it's absolute infancy and so it cannot be disputed that he was a highly influential Italian painter whose work was spread around key institutions in which he was commissioned to work.

All the most famous members of the Italian Renaissance such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael all followed on after the career of Masaccio and would have been inspired by his achievements at this early stage in art development towards all that we enjoy today. Baroque master, Caravaggio would also have studied his work.

Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone was the birthname of a painter who became best known as Masaccio and his reputation remains particularly strong in his native Italy, which at the time of his career was just a collection of provinces loosely connected together.

Italian art was to lead European art for many centuries after Masaccio had left his own legacy and there was a constant procession of influential painters from various regions of the country who were schooled by artists from previous generations which helped to keep the country's dominance going right up to the Baroque movement that followed.

Masaccio was famous for producing depictions of religious and mythical subjects which was the main way to go for artists of that time, with landscapes and abstract works being many years off coming into fashion.

It was also the religious institutions which were incredibly poweful within Italy at this time and they would always pay the most financially rewarding and reputation building commissions which would inevitably require religious based works within to decorate their own internal displays.

Masaccio came about at a truly early stage within the rise of the Renaissance, but there were still significant influences which had established themselves across the country from which painters could draw ideas and techniques after studying what had gone before.

Influences on Masaccio

The biggest influences on Masaccio are believed to have been Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masolino though there was certainly less available influences at that time compared to today's spread of the modern media and the far geater acceptance of new ideas that exists within the public.

Famous Artists Influenced by Masaccio

Having come along as early as the 13th century, Masaccio was very much at the start of what we consider to be European art. Other notable artists likely to have been inspired by his achievements include the likes of Bosch, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Bruegel and Botticelli.

Significant Italian artists of around the era of Masaccio included Giorgione, Gianlorenzo Bernini and Titian. They were all spearheading the continent's artistic direction at this time, moving through Italy's various periods of the Renaissance. It would later spread to Northern Europe where further famous names would start to appear.

There are plenty more key names from Italian art during these years, though other particularly famous exponents of sculpture or frescos were Giotto, Annibale Carracci, Giovanni Bellini and Fra Angelico.

Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity is probably the most famous work by Masaccio and you can see that above. The Holy Trinity came about in 1427 and was produced in traditional fresco format in the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, in Florence.

The city of Florence has become known as the starting location for the Renaissance thanks to artists like Masaccio and as many of it's famous art was added to internal buildings and religious institutions, they still remain there in all their original glory.

The original Holy Trinity freco measured a huge 667 cm × 317 cm (263 in × 125 in) and this reflects the difference in sizes of frescos as opposed to oil painting canvases as seen more frequently today.

Please note that each image included within this website and the Masaccio gallery come with links to the Art.com prints gallery where you can buy your own reproduction prints of Masaccio paintings for your home, with a huge selection of his work available.

We have used this company before and always received an excellent service from them, so are more than happy to recommend them to you.

Tribute Money

Tribute Money is one of the most impressive works from Masaccio and you can see it above in all it's glory. Other notable paintings from this skilled artist included Brancacci Chapel (Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Tribute Money), Pisa Altarpiece and Holy Trinity.

As with most artists who came about during the early parts of the Renaissance, there remains a certain controversy over the precise years of the artist's paintings and also some attributions are uncertain but there is enough clarity to be confident in the approximate timing of his career as well as the talent which he possessed.

Masaccio, like any artist from the Renaissance, produced work which is of a truly classical style that is best suited to framed giclee art prints for those looking to buy reproductions of his original paintings.

Posters and stretched canvases tend to be more popular for the works of more modern artists and for that reason we would recommend choosing large framed paintings for anyone looking to add copies of original Masaccio paintings to their own homes.

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve is a common scene found within so many artists from the Renaissance period, because of it's critical importance within the teachings of the Christian religion.

Masaccio was one such artist who covered this topic and you can see one example of it above, with the full title being The Expulsion of Adam and Eve which is mentioned in detail within Christian literature which placed the lives of these two individuals as having great symbolism within the development of the human race from the early days.

Italian art has become respected right across the world because of it's achievements within the Renaissance period that began in Italy before spreading right across the rest of Europe to France, Spain, UK and Flemish regions with Netherlands and Germany.

Italian paintings are appreciated for their creativity and beauty at a time when art was considerably primitive and required the intervention of such innovative painters, such as Masaccio.

List of Famous Masaccio Paintings

Please see below for a summarised list of the best Masaccio paintings that are featured throughout this website.

• Adam and Eve Banished from Paradise
• Holy Trinity
• Adam and Eve
• Brancacci Chapel
• Crucifixion
• Dispute with Simon Mago
• First Bishop of Antioch
• Healing of the Cripple
• Holy Trinity Fresco
• King of Antioch
• Madonna and Child with St Anne
• Raising of the Son of Theophilus
• Resurrection Oftabitha
• San Cristoforo
• St Peter Enthroned
• St Peter Healing the Sick with His Shadow
• St Peter in Jail
• St Peter in the Teachers Chair
• St Peter Resurrects the Child of Theophilus
• St Roch in Prison
• Tahiti Girl
• Tribute Money
• Virgin with the Infant Jesus and Angels
• St Peter Resurrects the Child of Theophilus