Masachio (1401-1428) - 1424 The Madonna and Child with St. Ann (Uffizi)
In Florence the new age of the Renaissance began in painting with a rather subdued work, devoid of any rhetoric: The Madonna and Child with Saint Anne executed by Masolino and Masaccio in 1424. The succession of planes is compact and follows an upward direction, thus creating a pyramid shape. The composition can certainly attributed to Masaccio who executed only the Madonna and Child and the two angels (the upper right-hand one, and the one looking down from on high). A sense of grave dignity and power emanates from the faces, from the expressions and from the solidity of the bodies.
Despite the presence of a strong chiaroscuro, the painting is bright due to the use of a dense color paste which absorbs the light and so heightens the tones. The light comes very distinctly from the left, and the figure of the Madonna casts a light but very visible shadow on the floor. The base and the throne are drawn according to precise points of reference which produce the effect of perspective.
Masachio (1401-1428) - 1424 The Madonna and Child with St. Ann (Uffizi)
In Florence the new age of the Renaissance began in painting with a rather subdued work, devoid of any rhetoric: The Madonna and Child with Saint Anne executed by Masolino and Masaccio in 1424. The succession of planes is compact and follows an upward direction, thus creating a pyramid shape. The composition can certainly attributed to Masaccio who executed only the Madonna and Child and the two angels (the upper right-hand one, and the one looking down from on high). A sense of grave dignity and power emanates from the faces, from the expressions and from the solidity of the bodies.
Despite the presence of a strong chiaroscuro, the painting is bright due to the use of a dense color paste which absorbs the light and so heightens the tones. The light comes very distinctly from the left, and the figure of the Madonna casts a light but very visible shadow on the floor. The base and the throne are drawn according to precise points of reference which produce the effect of perspective.