Today in class we continued with our study of 15th-century Italian art, shifting our focus towards Masaccio for most of the class. We learned a little about Masaccio, and how he died incredibly young, yet was still able to create several fantastic works of art. We focused closely on The Tribute Money, which Masaccio painted for the private chapel of the Brancacci family in Florence. The way he constructed the painting was incredibly impressive, as he did not depict the scene from left to right (as would normally be done), and yet he managed to draw your eyes in the right direction.
We touched on a few more Masaccio paintings, learning about his use of light and color, and then shifted focus toward Florentine architecture, which bore similarities to the Palazzo Vecchio from a century earlier. Everything was done to make a statement about the power of the owners of the palace, a common theme of the time. Finally, we studied the Battle of San Romano and looked at its strange depiction of a battle, which seemed neither gruesome nor horrific.