Mazachcho, "Trinity" - a reform of the perspective

"Trinity" is a fresco by Masaccio. Epoch - early Renaissance. The time of creation is approximately 1425 - 1428 years. Dimensions: 667x317 cm. Located in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence.

History of the work

Fresco Masaccio "Trinity" is executed on the third span of the nave under the control of the Dominicans. Her customer is unknown. Giorgio Vasari fully described it in 1568, and two years later she disappeared. On the new stone altar set a large picture of the "Madonna of the Rosary" or "Madonna of the beads", made by Vasari himself. The work of Masaccio was rediscovered in 1861 when the altars of the sixteenth century were removed. Fresco was transferred to the canvas and attached to the inner wall of the facade. In 1952 the "Trinity" was moved to a new place above the sarcophagus of Adam, which is located in the wall in the neo-Gothic altar of the nineteenth century.

The theme the master discovers

God the Father supports the cross of his son. Between them, the Holy Spirit is hovering in the form of a dove. Thus, the Christian "Trinity" is filled with the grace emanating from it. Under the crucifixion there is a sarcophagus with the skeleton of Adam, which should remind the parishioner of the inevitable death and the need for repentance. So I saw Masaccio "Trinity."

Description of the fresco

Like his contemporary Donatello, Masaccio in the "Trinity" made most of his discoveries in writing the perspective and architectural framework, which was completely new for his time. The artist loved the architecture of Filippo Brunelleschi and carefully wrote out the elegant columns and capitals of the Ionic order, the powerful Doric, and also the arches. The ceiling has no mystical meaning, but it is written with all the smallest details and cells. In the very center was located Masaccio Trinity, and to her left - Virgin Mary in a blue raincoat. To the right is St. John in red. Below there are two more characters: on the left in the red raincoat is the donor (as suggested by Lorenzo Lenzi), and on the right in the blue is his wife. These colors are not accidental. They are the crossing symmetry of the two previous figures. By their size, the spouses are similar with the saints, which was then not accepted. This is also the innovation of the painter. Here, in fact, a brief description of the "Trinity" Masaccio.

Analysis of the picture

Let us consider how the artist arranged all the figures on his work. Father, stretching his arms wide and filling the whole space, supports the cross on which the Son was crucified. His head is the highest point of the composition, just below - the martyr Jesus. Between them, connecting them, is a white dove - the Holy Spirit. The third level is the Virgin Mary, the body, the face and hand of which are deployed to the viewer and indicate the sufferings of Christ. Strangely enough, she is depicted as a middle-aged woman. In a reverential prayerful silence, St. John is at this same level. The scheme shown below clearly shows their placement, as well as the donor and his wife, who are still below this sacral space. They are at the eye level of the audience. The point of descent of the entire composition is located at the floor level and is reduced to a line that probably symbolizes the earthly level. But paradoxically, its tiles are not depicted in the picture, they can only be imagined. We continue the analysis and description of Masaccio's picture "The Trinity".

For a person of average height, it is inconvenient to stand close to the image. Therefore, a sarcophagus appears to put the parishion in the proper place. Some researchers believe that when writing the perspective, Masaccio used the astrolabe to map the two-dimensional sphere to the plane. Others say that the artist just hammered the nail into the center of the floor of the composition, pulled the ropes and carried along them the necessary lines with a pencil from the slate. His traces are visible to this day.

Masaccio was so carried away by the image of the perspective that he forgot about the shadow that every figure should have. It has only John the Theologian.

No less interesting is the skeleton of Adam. This is the first accurate and real anatomical image of the Renaissance, so naturalistic that everyone can count his ribs. The inscription above it in Latin translates: "I was the same as you, but you will be the same as I was." Simple parishioners did not speak Latin, so only educated people could read and understand it.

The drama that occurs on the canvas, Masaccio conveys gestures and facial expressions of his models. Their silhouettes are formed in relief. The artist wants to create the feeling that everything is happening "here and now", so that everyone who looks at this work is completely imbued with the acuteness and tension of the moment. This is also the innovation of the work.

Tomazo Mazaccio lived a short (only 27 years) life, but became a reformer of early Renaissance painting, having a great influence on subsequent painters.