The Baptistery of the Church of SS Stephen and Laurence in Castiglione Olona (Varese, Italy) is a room whose walls were frescoed by Masolino da Panicale in 1435. The cycle is known as his masterpiece and narrates the life of Saint John the Baptist from the announcement of his coming to his death and burial. In this rather narrow room, Masolino set up his narration of the life of the Saint using every surface at his disposal. He uses no panels to enclose the narration and our sight move from an episode to another. He draws simple, neat lines and the colours are spread through wide areas, with pale and soft hues, creating a fairy-tale brightness. Masolino uses perspective to enlarge the space and scan the narrative pace: hence the sensation, as art historian Roberto Longhi has written: «to feel as though wrapped in a unique bright sequence».
For more info: www.museocollegiata.it
Project by Emiliano Michelon for Digital Humanities Lab of Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz
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