MasaccioBold and realistic, the narrative power of Masaccio's entire body of work is explored in this elegant volume. In just seven years before his death at the age of twenty-six, Masaccio (1401-1428) developed a fully naturalistic and dramatic style that inaugurated Renaissance painting. His best-known work is the fresco cycle in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence (painted with Masolino), one of the world's artistic landmarks. Recently restored, these frescoes - with all of Masaccio's other works - are shown in stunning detail in this volume. An opening essay places the painter in his historical and art-historical context, emphasizing Masaccio's innovations. The second part of the book presents two dozen important paintings in full-spread or full-page reproductions with enlarged details and annotated brief essays for each. The last section is an illustrated catalogue raisonne of all of Masaccio's works, from the frescoes on public view in the Brancacci Chapel to other panels in Europe and the United States. John T. Spike's lucid, authoritative text traces Masaccio's artistic development with particular attention to the artist's connection to Donatello and Brunelleschi. He proposes a new reading of the iconography of the influential Brancacci Chapel, and discusses the extent of Filippino Lippi's over-painting in the chapel, based on information gleaned from recent ultraviolet and infrared photography that appears in this volume. Comprehensive and engaging, this profusely illustrated exploration of Masaccio's genius opens new lines of inquiry that will be explored for decades to come. |
Contents
Authors Preface and Acknowledgments | 13 |
CHRONOLOGY | 39 |
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS | 178 |
Copyright | |
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Adam and Eve altar wall Andrea di Giusto angels apostles artist Berenson Berlin Berti Berti/Foggi Boskovits Brancacci Chapel Santa Brunelleschi Cappella Brancacci Carmelite Casazza Castiglione Olona Chapel Santa Maria Child Enthroned Christ church Colonna Altarpiece composition Crucifixion of Saint Desco da Parto Detail of SAINT Donatello executed Felice Brancacci figures Filippino Lippi Florence Florence cat Florentine Painters fresco Gentile da Fabriano Giotto gold leaf Ibid Joannides John the Baptist leaf on panel Madonna and Child Maria del Carmine Masac Masaccio and Masolino Masolino and Masaccio Nanni di Banco pittura portraits predella Procacci Raising of Tabitha Reggello Renaissance Rome Saint Anne Saint Jerome Saint John Saint Julian Saint Paul Saint Peter Saint Peter Baptizing SAINT PETER ENTHRONED Saint Peter Healing Saint Peter Raising San Giovenale Triptych Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Novella scholars Shadow Staatliche Museen Tempera and gold Tempera on panel Tribute Money vanishing point Vasari