Art is much more powerful when it jumps from the pages of a book and you can enjoy it face to face. We found Masaccio’s masterpiece, The Holy Trinity, sitting quietly inside Florence’s Santa Maria Novella church, a peaceful and cool oasis from a crowded summer day in the city.
This work is considered “one of the best examples of the early Renaissance scientific approach to creating the convincing illusion of space within a painting.” (source) Less concerned with all that, Daughter exclaimed with excitement, “hey — that one’s in my book!”
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I invite you to sign my guestbook, and to join me on Facebook. This post first appeared on Prayers and Piazzas in August 2016.
Prayers & Piazzas 
What a great way to introduce your daughter to art! I’ve taken my children to Italy several times but we haven’t focused on art as much as I would have liked… this year, I will buy them a short book on Italian art to get them inspired for our trip to Florence.
😍 Your photo for this post says it all! One of the many reasons I fell in love with Italy. One doesn’t have to go to one of the large cathedrals or even the museums to see such masterpieces quietly enduring.
Wow Stacy, Great minds think alike! I published a post about 10 days ago on La Trinità and Masaccio. Such an important piece of art history. Thankfully Vasari secretly ‘hid’ it to prevent it being destroyed. Ciao, Cristina
That was a great post, I just read it. Don’t know how I missed it when it was published. I didn’t realize about it being hidden for so long. Love the sketches you made!
Grazie Stacy. Art history is so amazing!
Loved your blog also! You both have inspired me to introduce my children to Italian art!
What was your experience seeing the work in person and in reproduction at the same time? Did the reproduction fall severely short of the original, or do you think it did a pretty good job preparing you for the real thing? I’m super interested in these sorts of questions recently.
Well… the reproduction was pretty small, especially in comparison! And as for prepared, I never am. I only knew to look for the Masaccio because my dear friend had coached me moments before going inside. And then there’s the Stendhal Syndrome which I always experience in Florence…. that feeling of being completely overwhelmed by being among so much art and beauty.
I can recall three stronger experiences where I was completely unprepared for the magnificence of the real piece of art: Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon…”, Botticelli’s “…Venus” and, of course, Leonardo’s “The Last Supper.”