Masaccio, Italian Renaissance Painter

Vasari tells us that all Florentine painters studied the frescoes of Masaccio to "learn the precepts and rules for painting well." Masaccio is credited for introducing humanism in art. The death of such a talented, young painter as Masaccio was a great loss to the art world, something not fully realized until later. It is rumored that Masaccio's early death was the result of poisoning by a rival artist who could not compete successfully with the great artist.

Strongly influenced by Masaccio later was Italian Renaissance giant, Michelangelo.

Brenda Harness, Art Historian

• Masaccio's Tribute Money
  Masaccio's Tribute Money is revolutionary in his use of perspective, not seen since antiquity, and the forms appearing to being rendered with a single light source.
  
  
• Holy Trinity by Masaccio
  For the first time since antiquity, we see the full use of Brunelleschi's innovative perspective technique in the fresco of the Holy Trinity by Masaccio.