The Trinity is a fresco by Masaccio. The era is the early Renaissance. Creation time - approximately 1425 - 1428 years. Dimensions: 667x317 cm. Located in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence.
History of the work
Masaccio's “Trinity” fresco was painted on the third nave span under the control of the Dominicans. Her customer is unknown. Giorgio Vasari fully described her in 1568, and two years later she disappeared. On the new stone altar, a large painting “Madonna of the Rosary” or “Madonna of the Rosary”, made by Vasari himself, is installed. Masaccio's work was rediscovered in 1861 when the altars of the sixteenth century were removed. The 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 Adam's sarcophagus, which is located in the wall in a neo-Gothic 19th-century altar.
The theme that the master opens
God the Father supports the cross of his son. Between them, the Holy Spirit hovers like a dove. Thus, the Christian “Trinity” is filled with grace emanating from it. Under the crucifix there is a sarcophagus with the skeleton of Adam, which should remind the parishioner of the inevitable death and the need for repentance. So Masaccio saw the "Trinity."
Description of the mural
Like his contemporary Donatello, Masaccio in The Trinity made most of his discoveries when writing perspectives and architectural frameworks, which was completely new to his time. The artist loved the architecture of Filippo Brunelleschi and carefully painted elegant columns and capitals of the Ionic order, powerful Doric, as well as arches. The ceiling is not mystical, but it is written with all the smallest details and cells. Masaccio Trinity is located in the very center, and to her left is the Virgin Mary in a blue cloak. To the right is St. John in red. Below are two more characters: the donor on the left in the red cloak (as suggested by Lorenzo Lenzi), and his wife in the blue on the right. These colors are not random. They are the intersecting symmetry of the two previous figures. The spouses are similar in size to the saints, which was not accepted then. This is also the innovation of the painter. Here, in fact, is a brief description of the Trinity by Masaccio.
Picture analysis
Consider how the artist placed all the figures in his work. The Father, spreading 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 martyrdom of Jesus. Between them, connecting them, there is a white dove - the Holy Spirit. The third level is the Virgin Mary, the corps, whose face and hand are turned towards the viewer and indicate the sufferings of Christ.
Oddly enough, she is portrayed by an elderly woman. In reverential prayerful silence, Saint John is at the same level. In the diagram below, their placement is clearly visible, as are the donor and his wife, who are even lower than this sacred space. They are at the eye level of the audience. The vanishing point of the entire composition is located at the floor level and comes down to a line that probably symbolizes the earth level. But paradoxically, his tiles are not depicted in the picture, they can only be imagined. We continue the analysis and description of Masaccio's painting “Trinity”.
For a person of average height, it is inconvenient to stand close to the image. Therefore, a sarcophagus appears to move the parishioner to a suitable place. Some researchers believe that when writing the perspective, Masaccio used astrolabe to display a two-dimensional sphere on a plane. Others say that the artist simply hammered a nail into the center of the floor of the composition, pulled the ropes and drew the necessary lines along them with a pencil from slate. His traces are visible today.
Masaccio was so carried away by the image of perspective that he forgot about the shadow that every figure should have. Only John the Evangelist has it.
No less interesting is the skeleton of Adam. This is the first accurate and real anatomical image of the Renaissance, so naturalistic that anyone can count his ribs.
The inscription above it in Latin reads: "I was the same as you, but you will become the same as I became." Ordinary parishioners did not speak Latin, so only educated people could read and understand it.
Masaccio conveys the drama that takes place on the canvas with 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.
Tomaso Masaccio lived a short (only 27 years) life, but became a reformer of early Renaissance painting, having a great influence on subsequent painters.