Masaccio Innovator of Perspective and Illusion Essay...

Masaccio: Innovator of Perspective and Illusion Considered the greatest Florentine painter of the early 1400s, Masaccio is one of the most important figures of Western Art. Tommaso di ser Giovanni Cassai di Simon Guidi was born in 1401 and nicknamed Masaccio Careless Tom because of his attitude. He was apathetic to things like personal appearance and worldly materials, and was thus careless with his possessions. As a child, he concentrated more on his art instead of himself and what others thought about him. He moved from Castel S. Giovanni di Altura to Florence in 1417 to become a pupil of Masolino di Panicale. There, he helped upon innovations of art. In 1422 and 1424, he enrolled in the guild of St. Luke of Florentine Painters. After†¦show more content†¦Probably his most famous, The Tribute Money, gives a superb example of linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, the separation of lines, and the classic color theory. Linear perspective is a mathematical system of fixing objects on a plane of a two dimensional surface. This also involves orthogonals, imaginary lines receding into the distance, horizon line, the horizontal line at the viewer’s eye level, and vanishing point, where the orthogonals come together. Atmospheric perspective is slightly different. It creates the illusion of depth through methods like color saturation, brightness angle, and texture angle. The classic color theory is another way of emphasizing space in the painting. The theory says that warm colors appear to advance while cool colors recede. This is why Masaccio painted red and orange-clothed figures with a blue and gray background in The Tribute Money. Painters including Masaccio developed the separation of planes in the 14th century. It is the technique of overlapping planes to create depth by using a foreground, middleground, and background. Perhaps the most mysterious thing about Masaccio is his death. Leaving the chapel unfinished, he left for Rome and died and the young age of twenty seven in 1428. It is speculated that he was poisoned, but there are no certain records of this. He was buried at the church of the Carmine in 1443. His friend, Brunelleschi was very troubled after hearing about this because Masaccio had given himShow MoreRelated The Characteristics of Florentine Painting as Reflected in the Work of Masaccio991 Words   |  4 Pagesin the Work of Masaccio The Italian Renaissance was one of the most productive periods in the history of art, with large numbers of outstanding masters to be found in many centres and in all the major fields painting, sculpture, and architecture. In Florence, in the first half of the fifteenth century, there were great innovators in all these fields, whose work marked a beginning of a new era in the history of art. These innovators included Masaccio in painting, It was Masaccio (1401-28) who, inRead MoreAncient Greek And Roman Art1711 Words   |  7 Pagesthe â€Å"rebirth† of art. Instead of completely disregarding ancient culture, artists simply studied these important crafts and reproduced the accomplishments of the past with their own style and techniques. Artists like Lorenzo Ghiberti, Donatello, Masaccio, and Nanni di Banco add a brilliant modern twist to classic art without disrespecting any traditions or by disregarding any classics. This paper will look closely at these four renowned Italian Renaissance artists and how ancient culture influenced