DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61542#0124
92
MASACCIO
[1401-
frescoes, and the execution seems to be that of his
pupil. The same type of head appears again in the
small subject of Peter Preaching, but the broad and
single folds of the drapery and the admirable distribu-
tion of light and shade are more in Masaccio’s style.
The scholar, it is clear, gains confidence at every step,
and in the third fresco he rises to new heights and
reveals himself as a strong and independent master.
This large subject, which includes the Healing of the
Cripple at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and the
Raising of Tabitha, has a dignity and beauty of com-
position to which Masolino never attained. The two
Florentine youths, it is true, closely resemble Salome’s
supporters in the Baptistery paintings, of which they
were probably the prototypes, but these pictures are
more natural and animated, and the atmospheric per-
spective of the Piazza and distant houses is superior
to anything in the Castiglione frescoes. We recognise
Masaccio’s hand in the deep-set eyes and ample
brows of St. Peter and St. John, and in the fine effect
of chiaroscuro, which help to render the waking of
Tabitha to life so impressive. It is, we repeat, im-
possible to suppose that Masolino painted this noble
composition after the Castiglione frescoes, which, with
all their naive charm and sincerity, are distinctly
Giottesque and archaic in character.
There is, however, a marked change in Masaccio’s
next frescoes, which were probably painted at a later
period. During the interval the young artist may
have been engaged on some of the many works
w’hich he executed in churches of Florence and
Pisa. The great St. Paul which he painted on the
wall near the belfry of the Carmine, perished long
MASACCIO
[1401-
frescoes, and the execution seems to be that of his
pupil. The same type of head appears again in the
small subject of Peter Preaching, but the broad and
single folds of the drapery and the admirable distribu-
tion of light and shade are more in Masaccio’s style.
The scholar, it is clear, gains confidence at every step,
and in the third fresco he rises to new heights and
reveals himself as a strong and independent master.
This large subject, which includes the Healing of the
Cripple at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and the
Raising of Tabitha, has a dignity and beauty of com-
position to which Masolino never attained. The two
Florentine youths, it is true, closely resemble Salome’s
supporters in the Baptistery paintings, of which they
were probably the prototypes, but these pictures are
more natural and animated, and the atmospheric per-
spective of the Piazza and distant houses is superior
to anything in the Castiglione frescoes. We recognise
Masaccio’s hand in the deep-set eyes and ample
brows of St. Peter and St. John, and in the fine effect
of chiaroscuro, which help to render the waking of
Tabitha to life so impressive. It is, we repeat, im-
possible to suppose that Masolino painted this noble
composition after the Castiglione frescoes, which, with
all their naive charm and sincerity, are distinctly
Giottesque and archaic in character.
There is, however, a marked change in Masaccio’s
next frescoes, which were probably painted at a later
period. During the interval the young artist may
have been engaged on some of the many works
w’hich he executed in churches of Florence and
Pisa. The great St. Paul which he painted on the
wall near the belfry of the Carmine, perished long