Masaccio

Perspective

Masaccio was famous for his brand new techniques of perspective, being one of the first artists to show realistic foregrounds and backgrounds to emphasize importance of certain figures in his paintings. His very mathematical precision can be seen in his strategic placement of vanishing points, the most obvious being that in The Tribute Money. In fact, in some cases, the concept of perception caused Masaccio to shorten or alter proportions in order to fit into the scene, a technique that is used multiple times by Michelangelo, especially in the Doni Tondo where Mary’s head and torso lie at an odd angle to provide for the prospective of Jesus climbing on her. In addition, the Holy Family is in prominence in the foreground, with the naked youths behind the wall providing an odd contrast with their much smaller proportions and overall size, showing Michelangelo’s lessons from Masaccio in prospective.

The Tribute Money

Michelangelo's Copy of Masaccio

The Doni Tondo

Use of Light

In addition, Masaccio was the first artist to use the images and ideas of light in his paintings to make them more realistic and potent. Masaccio used this concept to illuminate not only in the sense of illuminating the most important religious figures in his works, but also as a means of contrast, a technique that Michelangelo obviously subscribed to. Clothing in Masaccio’s—and Michelangelo’s—paintings stands out as more realistic and beautiful than the previous flat portrayals of earlier artists (Vinson 1990). Masaccio also painted majestic figures acting in commonplace ways, connecting religious symbols to relaxed poses and human traits, such as Christ sucking on his fingers as a baby in the Virgin and Child, another technique that is clearly visible in Michelangelo’s works, again including the Doni Tondo as well as copies of Masaccio's earlier paintings.

The Virgin and Child

The Human Form

Also, Masaccio was the first Italian Renaissance artist to focus on the musculature of the humahn form and depict the body in a more realistic and scientific way, causing Leonardo da Vinci to say that Masaccio took lessons from nature and obtained perfection in his works (Grendier 1999). Especially in the Holy Trinity, where Christ’s body is portrayed in a more muscular and robust form than ever before, Masaccio depicts every figure in the painting in an anatomically correct representation. Michelangelo, being famous for the musculature and physical structure of his figures, was very much influenced by Masaccio’s works. As well as this, Masaccio also depicted figures in less statuesque positions, some in relaxed poses and others in more twisted stances, another characteristic of Michelangelo’s work. In this sense, it is possible that Michelangelo’s copies of Masaccio’s works had a great impact on his own later pieces.

Similarities in Subject Matter

Furthermore, the physical depictions in the works of Masaccio clearly influenced Michelangelo. The most evident of these is the expressions of utter despondence and shame on the faces of Adam and Eve in The Expulsion of Adam and Eve, proving very similar to Michelangelo’s later work in the Sistine Chapel. Considering the similarities in style, it is probable that Michelangelo studied Masaccio’s work enough to recognize and want to replicate his pieces. The angels in each painting are represented in the same color and type of clothing and are both weilding swords, but Adam and Eve themselves are shown with very distinctive postures that demonstrate Michelangelo's own ideas and perceptions. While Masaccio portrays Adam covering his face and Eve covering her shame, Michelangelo makes no such pretenses. The viewer is able to see and relate to the misery plain on Adam's face, a stark contrast to his expression in the other panels of the Sistine Chapel.

Michelangelo

Masaccio