Masaccio

Masaccio was a pioneering genius of the 15th-century Renaissance. Despite dying at the young age of 26, he established a revolutionary style that fundamentally changed the history of Western painting.¹

The fresco 'Sagra' in a Florence church was a masterpiece depicting realistic crowds but was lost during later renovations. Michelangelo's copies of the work still convey its greatness today.¹

In the 1422 San Giovenale Triptych, he revived Giotto's volumetric figure style against contemporary trends. It already shows attempts to place figures in space using foreshortening.¹

He was friends with architect Brunelleschi and sculptor Donatello, learning mathematical perspective and classical sculptural volume from them. This interaction contributed greatly to his 3D spatial representation in painting.¹

Around 1424, commissioned by the wealthy Felice Brancacci, he began frescoes for the Brancacci Chapel in Florence. He started with Masolino, but the work remained unfinished upon Masaccio's death.¹

In 'The Tribute Money,' he innovatively painted shadows to match the light from the chapel's actual window, creating a sense of realism as if the figures existed in the real physical space.¹

In his masterpiece 'Expulsion from the Garden of Eden,' he dramatically expressed the shame and anguish of Adam and Eve through facial expressions and poses, greatly influencing Michelangelo.¹

When he died suddenly in Rome in 1428, Brunelleschi lamented, 'We have suffered a great loss.' His innovations were passed down to High Renaissance masters like Leonardo da Vinci.¹