From Wikipedia
Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance
Lecture Six
Masaccio - The Brancacci Chapel
In 1424 the "duo preciso e noto" ("well and known duo") of Masaccio and
Masolino was commissioned by the powerful and rich Felice Brancacci to
execute a cycle of frescoes for the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine
in Florence. Painting began around 1425 with the two artists probably
working simultaneously. For reasons that are unclear they left the
chapel unfinished, and it was completed by Filippino Lippi in the
1480s. The iconography of the fresco decoration is somewhat unusual;
while the majority of the frescoes represent the life of St. Peter, 2
scenes, on either side of the threshold of the chapel space, depict the
temptation and expulsion of Adam and Eve. As a whole the frescoes
represent human sin and its redemption through the actions of Peter,
the first pope.[7]
The style of Masaccio's scenes shows the influence of Giotto
especially. Figures are large, heavy, and solid; emotions are expressed
through faces and gestures; and there is a strong impression of
naturalism throughout the paintings. Unlike Giotto, however, Masaccio
uses linear and atmospheric perspective, directional light, and chiaroscuro,
which is the representation of form through light and color without
outlines. As a result his frescoes are even more convincingly lifelike
than those of his trecento predecessor.