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Abstract
This paper discusses the revolutionary usage of perspective, three-dimensional representation of painting on a flat surface began to seep into art around the time of the Renaissance. This style added a realistic quality to paintings starting around the 1400’s. By reflecting on various resources I will report on these perspectives by comparing several pieces of Renaissance art.
Linear perspective, or mathematical perspective, involves projecting the three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional surface, such as paper or canvas (Art Institute of Chicago, 2003). A great example of the linear perspective can be found in Tommasso diSer Giovalnni di Mone Cassais’ painting entitled Trinity with the Virgin, Saint John the Evangelist, and Donors (Stokstad, pg. 327, 2007). This Florentine artist was nicknamed Masaccio, which means big Tom and is a shorted version of his given name, Tommasso (My Studios, n.d.).
The Trinity can be found in Church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence and was created sometime between 1425 and 1428, the year of Masaccios’ death. The illusion set forth in this fresco painting was a funerary monument and alter table positioned inside the wall. This kind of framed niche commonly seen in churches is called an aedicula (Stokstad, 2007). The painting stands 21’ x 10’5”. Pure vibrant colors add to the paintings life-like quality as its size makes the viewer feel there could actually be a hole in the wall where the barreled-vault stretches behind. Structured lines throughout the painting add to the point of focus, which is Jesus on the crucifix. The design is complimentary of the sign of the cross with arranged symmetry.
The painting can be divided into three sections; the figure of God standing behind Jesus being crucified, the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist to Jesus’ immediate left or right, and the donors or commissioners of the painting on the outsides of the columns in the painting. The donors are seen at...