MASOLINO da Panicale
(b. 1383, Panicale, d. 1447, Firenze)

The Baptist Scolding Herod and Herodias

1435
Fresco
Baptistery, Castiglione Olona

In the scene on the altar wall to the right of the window, John is chastising Herod and Herodias for living in an unlawful union. The setting is the interior of a loggia with a door at the end. The wings of the door, painted in perspective, are opened slightly toward the inside. The following scene to the right shows John in prison. The painter has used and angle in the wall to heighten the sense of the prisoner's isolation, for the actual prison cell appears in the embrasure of the south window. A painted balustrade extends across the top of this interior.