The work of Masolino da Panicale in Castiglione Olona.
Tommaso di Cristofano Fini, called Masolino, was born in Panicale in Valdarno near Florence in 1393. He was trained in the studio of Lorenzo Ghiberti and was a pupil of Gherardo di Jacopo di Starnina, called the "Starnina", who taught him the art of the "good fresco".
In 1423 he entered the "Arte dei medici e degli speziali". In 1424 he worked in Empoli and in the same period he was commissioned by Felice Brancacci to fresco the homonymus Chapel inside the Church "Madonna del Carmine" in Florence, where he worked with Masaccio.
On 1 september 1425 he left for Ungary with Filippo Scolari, a Florentine soldier at the service of Emperor Sigismondo and Great Magnate of Ungary. He came back in 1427 and served Cardinal Branda Castiglioni, to whose patronage is due the most brilliant period of his artistic career.
As a matter of fact, the Tuscan painter created his best work in 1427 to 1435: the frescoes of the Chapel of Saint Catherine in Saint Clemente in Rome (Cappellania of Branda Castiglioni) and those of the Collegiata and the baptistery of Castiglione Olona.
He died in Florence between 1440 and 1447.
The Baptistery
The Baptistery is on the same plane at the top of the hill where the Collegiata stands. It derives from an old red brick tower whose loopholes were transformed into windows. Presumably the Baptistery was born as a gentilitial chapel for the salvation of the soul. It's the common opinion of the art critics that the painting in fresco of the Baptistery proceeded that of the Collegiata's apse basin. The documents regarding the decoration of the Collegiata and the Baptistery are rather scarce but not inexistent. As a matter of fact, the date 1435 appears on the intrados of the arch between the presbytery and the square room. It also appears in the Baptistery's frescoes. Also, the signiture "Masolinus de Florentia pinxit" is legible in the scene of the Nativity, in the Collegiata's apse. As regards the Baptistery's frescoes, the assistants of Masolino gave a secondary contribution. Presumably only "The Decollation" was made by Paolo Schiavo or Vecchietta entirely. Masolino is a transition artist between the courteous art and humanistic arts. He elaborates the pictorial elements of the courteous style according to humanistic criteria. The courteous painting represents the space as a symbolic, ethical and moral dimension. The XVth century's painters had no pedagogical intention of explaining what is good and what is evil. Masolino still had this didactic intention. This turns out from his use of the perspective, which is not geometrical but only evocative.
The Baptistery preserves Saint John the Baptist's stories, frescoed by Masolino da Panicale in 1435. Here is a detail of Christ's baptism.
An unreal light descends over the clear and rough mountains with few little trees and over the clear green river. The delicate waves of the river emulate a sincere freshness. The stream of water has a gothic refinement. The light diffuses everywhere sovereignty and calm without shadows. In this picture Masolino gives an example of his own art that makes use of serene representations absolutely free of violence.
On the south internal wall of the Baptistery, Masolino concentrates three different events in a single one.
In this fresco the following scenes are recognizable: "Herod banquet" (left), "Salome' presents the Baptist's head to Herodiade" (right) and "The burying of Baptist" (center). They are physically different but psychologically related one to the other. The spatial depth of the scene is quite manifold and empirical. Some courteous elements and a particular attention to the representation of faces enrich the scene. The dance of Salome' was often present in the XIIIth century's tales. Due to ethical reasons, Salome' has already danced in this scene . The portico on the right of the "Banquet" is an example of the Masolino's representation of space. Specifically, he applies the linear perspective criteria with a strictly personal interpretation.
The Collegiata
The Collegiata's apse is quite unique not only from the architectural point of view, but also because it contains the altar and the tabernacle. The altar is the original Lord's table of the XIIIth century. It is placed on a marble base and looks simple and severe.
Masolino's work in the Collegiata of Castiglione came immediately after the completion of the frescoes in the Baptistery. The work of the master is limited to the Virgin's life depicted on the vault of the polygonal apse. The frescoes on the wall below, describing the "stories of the martyrs Lorenzo and Stefano" are ascribed to Paolo Schiavo and Vecchietta, who arrived in Castiglione to help the master.
Even though Masolino did not paint the choir's walls, Joannides (1988) recognised that the organization of the frescoes and the adopted criteria are strictly related to Masolino. Two Tuscan artists and co-workers decorated the walls and the window awries according to Masolino style. In the rearback lunett they represented the Trynity and the lives of the two Saints, patron of the Church. The contribution of Paolo Schiavo (from Florence) and Vecchitta (from Siena) confirm the extraordinary renewal operated by Cardinal Branda in Lombardia and proove his worthiness. The architectural subdivisions are quite similar to those of the upper part of the choir. For this reason he is thought to be the designer of all the choir's walls. It is not excluded, however, that some time passed before the completion of the walls. Due to the old age of Masolino, the decoration of the apse was continued by Paolo Schiavo first and completed by Vecchietta subsequently. Precisely, the upper registers of both sides were painted by Paolo Schiavo, who was a Masolino's follower according to Vasari. The severe spatial organization and the classical tone of architecture chosen by Paolo Schaivo and Vecchietta demonstrate the overcome of the Masolino's style. The moderate tone and the humanistic language of the stories characterize the Schiavo's works. This kind of expression extended widely thanks to small devotional pictures. One of this pictures is the Annunciation in the Collegiata's Museum. With this work Paolo Schiavo spreaded the pictorial ideas of the Masaccio's and Beato Angelico's tradition. On the contrary the art of Vecchietta - follower of Sassetta and Donatello- is extremely impressive. It often makes use of distortions which demonstrate the strong interest in sculpture he felt during his lifetime.
Detail of the Virgin's marriage, a fresco realized by masolino in the vault of the polygonal apse. The Collegiata, Castiglione Olona.
In this fresco both the public scene and the architectural style are more important than the Virgin's room. People are standing by and occupy the space around the Annunciation sector according to precise criteria. The figures elated one to the other and are harmonically arranged. Masolino was a great artist and his paintbrush fits the surface with great skillness. It is worthwhile noticing the lack of geometrical perspective, even though all the buildings aim at representing human activities within a real historic situation. These episodes really happened.
Page updated on June 10. 2001
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