Masaccio

Renaissance painter Masaccio (1401-1428) revolutionized art in just six years of activity, establishing the foundations of Western painting. Born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone in Castel San Giovanni near Florence, his nickname means "clumsy Tom" or "messy Tom," perhaps distinguishing him from collaborator Masolino ("little Tom"). He entered the Florentine painters' guild in 1422. In this short career, Masaccio radically transformed Florentine painting with his realistic figures, convincing three-dimensional space, and rational use of perspective.

His masterwork, the Brancacci Chapel frescoes in Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence (begun 1424), depicts scenes from the life of Saint Peter with unprecedented naturalism. His Expulsion from the Garden of Eden shows Adam and Eve with raw emotional intensity. The Tribute Money demonstrates sophisticated use of perspective and atmospheric effects. Masaccio's weighty, dignified treatment of the human figure renewed Giotto's idiom while utilizing contemporary advances in anatomy and perspective. He died mysteriously in Rome at just 26 or 27, possibly poisoned. Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Andrea del Castagno, and Piero della Francesca all studied his innovations at the Brancacci Chapel.