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Masaccio (born Tommaso Cassai or in some Tommaso
di Ser Giovanni di Mone) (December 21,1401-1428),
was a renowned painter of fresco|frescoes during
the Italian Renaissance. Masaccio meaning sloppy
was a nickname given by Giorgio Vasari on account
of the artist's dedication to his painting being
so great he gave little attention to his personal
hygiene. 

Despite his brief career, he had a profound
influence on other artists. He was one of the
first to use Linear perspective|scientific
perspective in his painting. He also moved away
from the Gothic art|Gothic style of the time to a
more naturalistic mode where he paid more
attention to perspective and realism than to
elaborate ornamentation.

Little is known about his early life until he
joined the Painters' Guild in Florence in 1422.
The first attributed works the Cascia Altarpiece
and a Virgin and Child with St Anne both in the
Uffizi date from that year. Both works were
collaborations with an older artist Masolino and
for many years it was assumed Masaccio was an
apprentice to Masolino - however Masaccio gained
entry to the Painters' Guild before Masolino
making it more likely their collaboration was for
convenience. In Florence Masaccio studied the work
of Giotto and was friends with Alberti,
Brunelleschi  and Donatello. At their prompting in
1423 Masaccio travelled to Rome and his work from
that point is freed of all gothic and byzantine
influence as represented by the central panel of
his altarpiece for the Carmelite Church in Pisa,
c. 1423, the cental panel of which (The Madonna
and Child) is now in the National Gallery,
London|National Gallery, London. As well as a
sculptural and human Madonna the work features a
convincing perspectival depiction of her throne.

In 1424 Masolino was commissioned to execute a
cycle of frescoes for the Brancacci Chapel in
Florence but pressed to complete the work asked
for Masaccio's help. For two years Masaccio worked
on the Chapel alone and the cycle includes his
most famous work and shows his reference to Giotto
especially.  The Expulsion from the Garden of
Eden, depicting a distressed Adam and Eve, nude,
without fig leaves had a huge influence on
Michelangelo. Another major work is the Tribute
Money in which Jesus and the Apostles are depicted
as neo-classical archetypes.

In 1427 Masolino returned and Masaccio quit the
Brancacci Chapel. He won a prestigious commission
to produce a Holy Trinity for the Santa Maria
Novella church in Florence. The fresco marks the
first use of systematic linear perspective,
possible devised by Masaccio with the assistance
of Brunelleschi.

Only four undoubtedly Masaccio frescoes still
exist today, although many other works have been
credited either in whole or in part to his name. 

Giorgio Vasari includes a biography of Masaccio in
his Lives.

==External links==
commonscat|Masaccio
*
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/bio/m/masaccio/biograph.
html A Biography
* http://www.masaccio.it/html_eng/home.htm A
website on the Artist
*
http://www.tigtail.org/TIG/TVM/X1/a.Early%20Italia
n/masaccio/masaccio.html Photos of five frescoes
attributed to Masaccio