Massacio- holy trinity Flashcards
(31 cards)
artist
massacio
date
1426-1428
medium
Fresco, a cost-effective form of decoration in 15th-century Florence.
location
Santa maria novella
how was Masaccio financially unsuccessful?
When he joined the Painter’s Guild in 1422, he could only afford one florin of the six required for initiation.
Which artists influenced Masaccio in Florence
became friends with Alberti, Brunelleschi, and Donatello.
(Brunelleschi and Donatello made trips to Rome where they experienced, studied and made drawings from Roman ruins firsthand)
What knowledge did Masaccio gain from Brunelleschi?
Mathematical proportion and principles of scientific perspective.
How did Donatello influence Masaccio?
Donatello’s classical art led Masaccio away from the Gothic style, inspiring greater realism
Who commissioned the Holy Trinity, and where is it located?
It was commissioned for the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence.
they held a prestigeous competition
Why is the Holy Trinity considered a significant example of linear perspective?
It marks the first use of systematic linear perspective, possibly devised with Brunelleschi’s assistance.
How is perspective achieved?
Through orthogonals converging at the vanishing point on the step where the patrons kneel, creating trompe l’oeil depth.
overall subject
-illusionary chapel with classical features
-the holy trinity: God the Father, Christ on the cross, and the Holy Spirit (a dove above Christ’s head)
-Mary and John the evangelist flank christ
-at bottom of fresco is a skeleton in a coffin
-patrons depicted kneeling on steps
significance of coffered barrel vault and who influenced this
When it was executed, no actual coffered barrel vault had yet been constructed since antiquity.
The architectural setting seems to be based on the niche for Donatello’s St Louis of Toulouse at the Orsanmichele.
What architectural elements are depicted in the Holy Trinity?
-classical coffered barrel vault
-corthinian pilasters and ionic columns forming a triumphal arch (signifies christ’s triumph over death)
How are the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist portrayed?
Mary gestures to Christ, engaging the viewer, while John stands on the opposite side of the cross.
MARY
-depicted with psychological realism: appears as an older, tired woman with wrinkled eyes, sacrificing traditional beauty for emotional impact.
-Usually mary depicted as youthful/ graceful- this depiction reflects renaissance climate of realism
-same scale as the donors (not heirarchal)
who are the patrons and how are they depicted
Likely the Lenzi or Berti family depicted kneeling outside the niche, sharing the viewer’s space as representatives of humanity.
There is no Gothic hierarchical scale employed; the patrons share the same scale as the holy figures
A tomb slab in the aisle in front of the fresco once belonged to the Lenzi family- this is how they have been identified as the donors
What is depicted at the bottom of the fresco?
A skeleton on a sarcophagus with the inscription: “I once was what you are, and what I am you also will be.”
What does the inscription of the scarophagus say
“I once was what you are, and what I am you also will be.”
What does the skeleton symbolize?
Adam’s burial at Golgotha, a memento mori, and the Lenzi family’s fictive tomb.
how is the skeleton anatomically correct
The skeleton is the most anatomically correct to date in Italian art, representing the first human, Adam, who was supposedly buried and redeemed at the foot of the cross.
A memento mori, reminding the viewer of their own mortality
How is Christ depicted in the Holy Trinity
-dead on the cross, wounds stil bleeding, not idealised
-emphasizing his humanity and ideal proportions, based on Vitruvius’s measurements.
significance of the proportions on the body of christ
The proportions of the body of Christ were based on Vitruvius’s measurements of ideal man and fit into the compositional squares and circles.
What symbolic geometric shapes are present in the composition?
Circles: Represent God’s infinity, passing through Christ’s wounds and centered at his navel.
Triangles: Represent the Trinity, descending from the upper circle.
Squares: Represent life, death, and salvation, framing the skeleton, saints, and Christ.
