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Masaccio
(born Tommaso Cassai or in some accounts Tommaso di
Ser Giovanni di Mone; December 21, 1401 – autumn
1428), was the first great painter of the Quattrocento
period of the Italian Renaissance. His frescoes are
the earliest monuments of Humanism, and introduce
a plasticity previously unseen in figure painting.
The name Masaccio is a humorous version of Tommaso,
meaning "big", "fat", "clumsy"
or "messy" Tom. The name was created to
distinguish him from his principal collaborator, also
called Tommaso, who came to be known as Masolino ("little/delicate
Tom").
Despite his brief career, he had a profound influence
on other artists. He was one of the first to use scientific
perspective in his painting, employing techniques
such as vanishing point in art for the first time.
He also moved away from the Gothic style and elaborate
ornamentation of artists like Gentile da Fabriano
to a more natural mode that employed perspective for
greater realism.
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