Masolino da Panicale, also known as Tommaso di Cristoforo Fini,
is best know for works in collaboration with Masaccio (1401–1428), such
as their Madonna and Child with St. Anne, also known as Sant'Anna Metterza,
a painting executed for the Church of Sant'Ambrogio and now in the Uffizi
Gallery. He is also known for his frescos in the Brancacci Chapel in the
Church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, The Temptation of Adam and Eve.
The Virgin and Child, with its powerful volume and solid possession of
space by means of an assured structure through perspective, is one of
the earliest works credited to Masaccio. The depiction of the angels,
delicate in their tender forms and pale, gentle colouring are from the
more Gothic brush of Masolino; except the angel in the upper right-hand
reveals the hand of Masaccio. The figure of St. Anne is much worn and
hence to be judged with difficulty, but may well be an invention of Masolino.
The figure of Christ is that of a young child, a realistic presence,
rather than a gothic cherub. This is also one of the first paintings
to display the effect of true natural light on the figure; it is this
invention which imparts the modeling of form so characteristic of Masaccio,
and which would have a profound influence on the painting of the Italian
Renaissance.
From October of 1916 through January of 1917, Rudolf Steiner gave a series
of nine lectures known as the Art Course. These lectures were given
the title of:
The History of Art.
Click here to discover what Steiner said about
Masolino
in the first lecture, or in the entire
lecture series.