Who Is Masaccio's First Spatially Correct Painting In Western Art?
641 Words3 Pages
Michael Schleigh
ARTS-150 Sec- 504
Innovation for an Eternity
Innovation was a big aspect in the Renaissance time period and all of the artists tried take a part in creating new ways to create art. The work that came from artists like, Brunelleschi, Donatello, and others, helped to create what modern art is today. Although there were many great innovators during this time period, none were better than Masaccio. Masaccio was a very original painter; he gained little style from other painters and came up with his works mostly on his own. Whether it was from his painting, Trinity, which is widely considered the first spatially correct painting in Western Art, or the portrayal of life-like figures in his work, Tribute Money, Masaccio was always pioneering a new age in Art. Masaccio was the greatest innovator of his time through his use of linear perspective, humanism, and chiaroscuro.…show more content… The technique of linear perspective is a mathematical system that uses vanishing points to create an illusion of distance. Although Masaccio may have learned this technique from Brunelleschi, he was the first to incorporate it into paintings. Linear perspective was so revolutionary because it gave a sense of depth to the image and somewhat created a third-dimension. It was also able to help control the viewer’s eyes to reinforce the symbolism in the painting. One of the best examples of linear perspective is in, Masaccio’s masterpiece, Tribute Money. The vanishing point, in this work, is the top of Christ’s head, which brings the audience eyes there, showing that this is the most important part of the scene. Masaccio was able to control where the viewers looked and he did this through the innovative use of Linear