Masaccio and the Brancacci Chapel (The Library of Great Masters)

Masaccio was born at San Giovanni Valdarno on 21st December 1401, and moved to Florence in 1417, where he quickly became known as a painter. Masaccio was above all involved in the humanistic avant-garde of Brunelleschi and Donatello. The tendency of both these artists to exalt human value in every way and to restore dignity to the vulgar tongue is already evident in Masaccio's first known painting, the San Giovenale Triptych, dated 23rd April 1422. Masaccio explores the works of this painter in full, concentrating on the Brancacci Chapel and famous works such as the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and the Tribute Money.