MASACCIO
(b. 1401, San Giovanni Valdarno, d. 1428, Roma)

St Paul

1426
Tempera on wood, 51 x 30 cm
Museo Nazionale, Pisa

In 1426 Masaccio agreed to paint an altarpiece for a chapel in the church of the Carmine in Pisa. On December 26th of that year the work must have been completed since payment for it is recorded on this day. The altarpiece (now referred to as the Pisa Polyptych) was dismantled and dispersed in the 18th century. Attempts at reconstructing it was based on a detailed description given by Vasari in 1568. The attempts were only partially succesful, only eleven pieces came to light and they are not sufficient to enable a reliable reconstruction.

The representation of St Paul is the only piece left in the city for which it was painted.