Early Renaissance, Part II
The Invention of Linear Perspective, c.
1425 and NeoPlatonism after 1438
Filippo Brunelleschi
Masaccio (Tommaso Cassai)
Lorenzo Ghiberti
Piero della Francesca
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Andrea Mantegna
Ghirlandaio, Giovanna Tornabuoni, 1488
Masaccio, Holy Trinity, Sta. Maria
Novella, Florence, c. 1428
Mantagna, The Dead Christ, c. 1490
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Early Renaissance Art in and around Florence, Italy
1402 – 1494
Ghiberti,, Jacob and Esau, from the “Gates of Paradise” (East Doors of the Florence
Baptistery), 1425-52
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam
and Eve from Eden,
Brancacci Chapel, c. 1425-7
Ghirlandaio, Birth of the Virgin, 1485-90, Cappella Maggiore, Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Brunelleschi discovered the rules of one-point linear
perspective around 1425, then showed other artists
in Florence, including Ghiberti and Massacio, how to
use it. One-point linear perspective assumes two
things: a single vanishing point and that the horizon
line is at the viewer’s eye level. His original painting
demonstrating his ideas is now lost.
Brunelleschi discovered the rules of one-point linear
perspective around 1425, then showed other artists
in Florence, including Ghiberti and Massacio, how to
use it. One-point linear perspective assumes two
things: a single vanishing point and that the horizon
line is at the viewer’s eye level. His original painting
demonstrating his ideas is now lost.
Baptistery of Saint John, Florence, 10th century
Leon Battista Alberti, an illustration of the concepts described in his book, On
Painting [Della Pittura], 1435, explaining Brunelleschi’s discovery. The book was
first written in Latin in 1435 and then translated into Italian in 1436. Alberti
dedicated the book to Brunelleschi, among others. He also credited Brunelleschi,
Donatello, Ghiberti, and Masaccio (who died in 1428) with "a genius for every
laudable enterprise in no way inferior to any of the ancients."
Brunelleschi discovered the rules of one-point linear
perspective around 1425, and showed other artists in
Florence, including Ghiberti and Massacio, how to
use it. It assumes a single vanishing point and that
the horizon line is at the viewer’s eye level. His
original paint is now lost.
Leon Battista Alberti, from his book, Della Pittura, 1435, explaining
Brunelleschi’s discovery.
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Sta. Maria Novella, Florence
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Brunelleschi,
façade of the
Ospedale degli
Innocenti,
Florence, 141924
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Brunelleschi,
Christ Crucified,
1412-14,
painted wood,
in Sta Maria
Novella; and
the façade of
the Ospedale
degli Innocenti,
Florence, 141924
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Arch of Titus,
Rome, view of
the vault
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Apotheosis of Titus from the vault of the Arch of
Titus, Rome, c. 80 CE
Arch of Titus,
Rome, view of
the vault
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
The names of the patrons that appear in this painting are uncertain. For many
years, it was thought that they were members of the Lenzi family. More
recently, they have been identified as Berto di Bartolomeo (a stonemason, who
was a friend of Brunelleschi) and his wife Sandra.
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
“I was once what you are, and what I am you will become.”
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Holy
Trinity, Sta.
Maria Novella,
Florence, c.
1428
Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, St. Peter Healing the Sick
with His Shadow, Brancacci Chapel, Sta.
Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, St. Peter Healing the Sick with
His Shadow, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria
del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Where is the light source in the paintings?
Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine,
Florence, c. 1425-7
Duccio, Maesta
Altarpiece, 1308-1311,
Museo dell’Opera de
Duomo, Siena
Isocephaly means
placing heads of figures
on the same level
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden, Brancacci Chapel,
Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden,
Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c.
1425-7
Before cleaning in 2000
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden,
Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c.
1425-7
Venus of the Praxitelian
type, Roman copy of a
Greek original, c. 350 BCE
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden,
Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c.
1425-7
Venus of the Praxitelian
type, Roman copy of a
Greek original, c. 350 BCE
Ghiberti,
“Annunciation,
” North Doors
of the Florence
Baptistery,
1401-1425
Ghiberti,
“Annunciation,
” North Doors
of the Florence
Baptistery,
1401-1425
Ghiberti, North Doors, Florence Baptistry, 1401-1425
Michelozzo da Bartolomeo, Palazzo Medici, 1440
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden, Brancacci Chapel,
Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Venus of the Praxitelian
type, Roman copy of a
Greek original, c. 350 BCE
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden,
Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c.
1425-7
Venus of the Praxitelian
type, Roman copy of a
Greek original, c. 350 BCE
Virgin of Paris,
early 14th
century
Ghiberti, Gates
of Paradise,
east doors of
the Florence
Baptistery, 142552
Ghiberti, North Doors, Florence Baptistry, 1401-1425
Ghiberti, Gates
of Paradise, east
doors of the
Florence
Baptistery, 142552
Ghiberti, Gates
of Paradise, east
doors of the
Florence
Baptistery, 142552
Ghiberti, Gates
of Paradise, east
doors of the
Florence
Baptistery, 142552
Ghiberti, SelfPortrait, c. 1450
Ghirlandaio, Giovanna Tornabuoni, 1488
Masaccio, Holy Trinity, Sta. Maria
Novella, Florence, c. 1428
Mantagna, The Dead Christ, c. 1490
Masaccio, Tribute Money, Brancacci Chapel, Sta. Maria del Carmine, Florence, c. 1425-7
Early Renaissance Art in and around Florence, Italy
1402 – 1494
Ghiberti,, Jacob and Esau, from the “Gates of Paradise” (East Doors of the Florence
Baptistery), 1425-52
Masaccio, Expulsion of Adam
and Eve from Eden,
Brancacci Chapel, c. 1425-7
Ghirlandaio, Birth of the Virgin, 1485-90, Cappella Maggiore, Santa Maria Novella, Florence