Masaccio the painter is often considered to be the first authentic Renaissance artist. His remarkably shortened life cut short his development, yet his outstanding achievement altered the course of art in the Western world. Masaccio benefited from the affluent patrons' massive support of the arts during the Early Renaissance, who were keen to showcase their wealth and status in the form of friezes and altar-pieces decorating private chapels. Little is known about Masaccio's life; what is known is that his paintings were unlike those of any other painter functioning in Florence at the time, utilizing a logical style that would come to characterize the Renaissance as a whole.