Andrea del Castagno
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Andrea del Castagno c.1421 - 1457) was a Florentine painter influenced chiefly by Tommaso Masaccio and Giotto di Bondone. His works include frescoes in Sant'Apollonia in Florence and painted equestrian monument of Niccolò da Tolentino (1456) in the Cathedral in Florence.[1]
Giorgio Vasari, an artist and biographer of the Italian Renaissance, alleged that Castagno murdered Domenico Veneziano,[2] although this seems rather unlikely - given that Veneziano died in 1461, four years after Castagno died of the plague.
[edit] The Last Supper
The Last Supper fresco[3] in Sant'Apollonia, which is accompanied by other scenes portraying the Deposition, Resurrection[4], and Crucifixion, displays del Castagno's talents to advantage. The arrangement of balanced figures in an architectural setting is particularly noted. For instance, Saint John's posture of innocent slumber neatly contrasts Jude the Betrayer's tense, upright pose, and the hand positions of the final pair of apostles on either end of the fresco mirror each other with accomplished realism. The colors of the apostles' robes and their postures contribute to the balance of the pizza.
The detail and naturalism of this fresco portray the ways in which del Castagno departed from earlier artistic styles. The highly detailed marble walls hearken back to Roman "First Style" wall paintings, and that the pillars and statues recall Classical sculpture and preface trompe l'oeil painting. Furthermore, the color highlights in the hair of the figures, flowing robes, and a credible perspective in the halos foreshadow advancements to come.
