Panicale, Masolino Da

Panicale, Masolino Da an eminent Italian sculptor and painter, born at Panicale, in the Florentine territory, in 1378. He first studied modelling and sculpture under Lorenzo Ghiberti, who at that time was unrivaled in composition and design, and in giving animation to his figures. Being already a distinguished artist, he studied coloring under Gherarda Stamina. Thus uniting in himself the excellence of two schools, and diligently cultivating the art of chiaroscuro, he produced a new style, not wholly exempt from dryness, but grand, determined, and harmonious beyond any former example; and one that was carried to higher perfection by his scholar, Masaccio. The chapel of S. Pietro al Carmine is a monument of his genius. He there painted the Four Evangelists, the Vocation of St. Peter to the Apostleship, the Denial of Christ, Curing the Lame Man at the Gate of the Temple, and the Preaching to the Multitude. Panicale died in 1415, before the completion of the chapel, and the rest of the Acts of St. Peter. These were afterwards painted by Masaccio. Some of his works have been engraved.