Saints Jerome and John the Baptist

Saints Jerome and John the Baptist stand together in this 1428 panel at the National Gallery in London, painted by Masaccio in the final year of his astonishingly brief career—he died at twenty-six in Rome. Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, called Masaccio, revolutionized European painting in barely a decade of activity, establishing the principles of linear perspective, volumetric figure modeling, and unified natural light that would define Renaissance art. This panel, likely part of a dispersed altarpiece, shows his mature ability to give painted figures the weight and presence of sculpture.

The two saints are rendered with the monumental solidity that distinguishes Masaccio from his contemporaries—figures that occupy real space and cast consistent shadows. The drapery is modeled with broad planes of light and shade rather than the decorative linearity of International Gothic painting. Masaccio"s palette is restrained, with earth tones and muted colors creating a sober, naturalistic atmosphere. The gold ground retains the altarpiece convention while the figures themselves break decisively with medieval stylization.