Comparison of Masaccios The Holy Trinity and Grunewalds The Isenheim

Comparison of Masaccio's The Holy Trinity and Grunewald's The Isenheim Altarpiece The Holy Trinity by Masaccio was a painting done in approximately 1428. It is a superb example of Masaccio's use of space and perspective. It consists of two levels of unequal height. Christ is represented on the top half, in a coffered, barrel-vaulted chapel. On one 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 Christ's halo. In front of the pilasters that enframe the chapel kneel the donors (husband and wife). Underneath the altar (a masonry insert in the painted composition) is a tomb. Inside the tomb is a skeleton, which may represent Adam. The vanishing point is at the center of the masonry altar, because this is the eye level of the spectator, who looks up at the Trinity and down at the tomb. The vanishing point, five feet above the floor level, pulls both views together. By doing this, an illusion of an actual structure is created. The interior volume of this 'structure' is an extension of the space that the person looking at the work is standing in. The adjustment of the spectator to the pictured space is one of the first steps in the development of illusionistic painting. Illusionistic painting fascinated many artists of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The proportions in this painting are so numerically exact that one can actually calculate the numerical dimensions of the chapel in the background. The span of the painted vault is seven feet, and the depth is nine 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 other forms are depicted superbly. Their bodies are not lost behind the drapery which they wear, yet they are not seen exactly either. The folds are more delicate, which create a calmer mood. (Christ's description was already given). The forms are three dimensional, and also have weight. They clearly 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 frightful composition, because of the events taking place. Expression is shown on all of the figures, who grieve Christ's death. Overall, the two works are very similar. Masaccio, however, was more interested in the mathematical aspects of painting than Grunewald. Both works are superb, and have their own distinct qualities.