The Holy Trinity

Question 1

subject?

Answer 1

Fresco depicting the Holy Trinity with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist

Question 2

patrons?

Answer 2

Domenico Lenzi and his wife are depicted in traditional kneeling donor portraits on either side of the cross.

Question 3

location?

Answer 3

The Florentine church of Santa Maria Novella.

Question 4

Classical architecture?

Answer 4

The six figures are arranged in a triangular formation within a chapel consisting of Ionic columns and Corinthian pilasters of alternating red and white marble. Below them, a sarcophagi with a skeleton laid across it acts as a memento mori for the spectator.

Question 5

Sense of realism?

Answer 5

Masaccio’s contemporaries were struck by the palpable realism of this fresco. Vasari praised the artist’s rendering of perspectvie and foresthorening to create the impression of three-dimensional space.

Question 6

Influence of the Renaissance style?

Answer 6

Seen here in the Christian subject matter fused with renewed interest in classical antiquity, emphasis on naturalism and anatomy, and the use of linear perspective.

Question 7

God represented as a man?

Answer 7

Depicted with foreshortened feet and heavy rendering of drapery in a contrapposto stance In medieval art, God was often represented by a hand, as though he was an abstract force or power. Masaccio demonstrates the influence of Renaissance Humanism here by depicting Christ as a man.

Question 8

Christ’s red cloak?

Answer 8

Represents the blood of Christ – symbolising his sacrifice.

Question 9

God’s blue robe?

Answer 9

Traditionally symbolised heaven. Also the most expensive pigment, therefore symbolising God’s importance.

Question 10

Christ’s muscular torso and idealised body?

Answer 10

The idealisation of Christ’s body glorifies him as he is portrayed as strong despite having been tortured before this. Christ is also shown as fully human – the ‘patient Christ’ to show that his suffering is real – establishing a closer personal connection with the Renaissance viewer.

Question 11

Triangular composition?

Answer 11

Demonstrates the clear hierarchy between the figures – with the patrons at the bottom and Christ at the top.

Question 12

Roman triumphal arch?

Answer 12

Referencing Christ’s victory through his resurrection.

Question 13

The skeleton and the inscription above the painting?

Answer 13

Acting as a memento mori, reinforced by the insctiprion above the painting ‘I once was what you are and what I am you also will be’.

Question 14

Neo Platonism and Humanism?

Answer 14

Humanists thought that geometric principles could unlock the mysteries of the universe and reveal the intentions of God – seen here in the emphasis on proportion, balance and symmetry.

Question 15

Religious beliefs in quattrocento Florence?

Answer 15

The painting was intended to serve as a lesson to the 15th-century faithful that, since they all would die, only their faith in the Trinity and Christ’s sacrifice would allow them to overcome their transitory existences.

Question 16

Brunelleschi, linear perpestive 1415?

Answer 16

Filippo Brunelleschi developed the principles of single-point perspective, eliminating the multiple viewpoints seen in medieval art, creating an illusion of space from a single viewpoint. This suggests a renewed focus on the individual viewer, emphasising the importance of individualism to Renaissance Humanism.

Question 17

Patrons?

Answer 17

The patrons are believed to be one of two local families, either the Lenzi or a member of the Berti, who were a families from the Santa Maria Novella quarter of Florence.

Question 18

Italian Renaissance patronage?

Answer 18

The commissioning of works of art and architecture in Florence by leading families such can be seen as an extension/expression of their struggle for political primacy and prestige in the Florentine Republic.

Question 19

Linear perspective?

Answer 19

Seen in Masaacio’s s use of orthogonal lines in the coffered ceiling and vanishing point behind Christ’s body. Demonstrates the influence of Brunelleschi’s development of linear perspective in 1415.

Question 20

Fresco?

Answer 20

Executed on freshly laid plaster. Fast-drying so artists must use a hatching technique to replicate shadow. The artist must work quickly and any mistakes are difficult to reverse.

Question 21

Lapis Lazuli?

Answer 21

Precious stone imported from Afghanistan and used to create the ultra marine pigment seen in Mary and Christ’s robes – signifying their importance.

Question 22

Florentine Disegno?

Answer 22

The Florentine disegno quality coined by Vasari is evident in the clear contour lines of the figures, especially in the folds of the drapery.