Comparison of Masaccios The Holy Trinity and Grunewalds The Isenheim

Comparison of Masaccios The saintly third and Grunewalds The Isenheim Altarpiece The Holy Trinity by Masaccio was a delineation through in approximately 1428. It is asuperb example of Masaccios use of piazza and perspective. It consists oftwo levels of unequal height. delivery boy is represented on the top half, in acoffered, barrel-vaulted chapel. On iodine side of him is the Virgin Mary,and on the other, St. John. Christ himself is supported by God the Father,and the Dove of the Holy Spirit rests on Christs halo. In front of thepilasters that enframe the chapel kneel the donors (husband and wife).Underneath the altar (a masonry set up in the painted composition) is atomb. Inside the tomb is a skeleton, which whitethorn represent Adam. Thevanishing point is at the center of the masonry altar, because this is theeye level of the spectator, who looks up at the Trinity and down at thetomb. The vanishing point, five feet above the outrage level, pulls bothviews t ogether. By doing this, an illusion of an actual structure iscreated. The interior bulk of this structure is an extension of thespace that the person looking at the work is stand in. The adjustmentof the spectator to the pictured space is one of the first step in thedevelopment of illusionistic painting. Illusionistic painting fascinatedmany artists of the Renaissance and baroque periods. The proportions in this painting are so numerically exact that onecan actually calculate the numerical dimensions of the chapel in thebackground. The foil of the painted vault is seven feet, and the depth isnine feet. Thus, he achieves not only successful illusion, but a rational,metrical coherence that, by maintaining the ... ... wearing a small robe around his waist. The otherforms are depicted superbly. Their bodies are not lost behind the draperywhich they wear, insofar they are not seen exactly either. The folds are moredelicate, which create a calmer mood. (Christs de scription was alreadygiven). The forms are three dimensional, and also have weight. They distinctly take up space, and where they are is clearly defined. As in The Holy Trinity, the composition is generally symmetrical,centered around the body of Christ. It is a awful composition,because of the events taking place. Expression is shown on all of thefigures, who grieve Christs death. Overall, the two kit and caboodle are very similar. Masaccio, however, wasmore interested in the mathematical aspects of painting than Grunewald.Both works are superb, and have their own distinct qualities.