- NameMasolino Da Panicale
- Sexmale
- Nationality/DatesItalian, born 1383, dead 1447 (?)
BiographyMasolino da Panicale, whose real name was
Tommaso di Cristofano di Fino, came from
Panicale in Valdelsa and was initially a pupil of
Lorenzo Ghiberti. According to Vasari, he stayed
in Ghiberti’s workshop for some years and then
devoted himself to painting and became a pupil
of Gherardo Starnina. The inspiration of Lorenzo
Monaco is also evident in some of Masolino’s
early paintings, especially in the vibrant colours
and the full-length flying angels. He worked for
the Orsini in Rome for a period, but returned to
Florence, where he executed the famous frescoes
for the Brancacci in Santa Maria del Carmine together
with Tommaso di Guido, called Masaccio.
In 1425 he left for Hungary to work for the famous
condottiere Filippo Scolari (Pippo Spano),
who had been fighting for King Sigismund of
Hungary. Masolino stayed in that country until
his patron’s death in December 1426, when he
returned to Florence.