St. Peter Healing the Sick with His Shadow

Saint Peter"s shadow heals the sick as he walks through the streets of Jerusalem in this celebrated fresco from 1425 in the Brancacci Chapel at Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. The Brancacci Chapel frescoes, begun by Masolino and brought to revolutionary completion by Masaccio, became the essential school for subsequent Renaissance painters—Michelangelo studied and copied them. This scene exemplifies Masaccio"s ability to create convincing urban space populated by monumental, psychologically present figures.

The Florentine street setting is rendered in rigorous one-point perspective, with the buildings receding convincingly along the street that contains Peter"s procession. Masaccio"s figures cast consistent shadows from a single light source—a revolutionary innovation that unified the pictorial space. The sick and lame are rendered with unflinching naturalism, their physical suffering conveyed through posture and expression. The fresco technique demands rapid, confident execution in wet plaster, and Masaccio"s handling shows extraordinary assurance.