Info: The Tribute Money, 1420s, fresco, 97.2” x 235”, Brancacci Chapel, Florence, Italy.

Explanation: Masaccio is regarded by many as the first great painter of the Early Italian Renaissance. He made great strides in establishing the three-dimensional style of painting figures and settings. He incorporated human movement into his pieces, utilized vanishing points to give his paintings depth, and developed linear perspective.

“The Tribute Money” is considered to be one of Masaccio’s best works. The painting depicts a scene from the Gospel of Matthew in which the Pharisees consult Jesus Christ on whether they should pay taxes to the Romans. Jesus instructs Saint Peter to the river, where he finds a coin in a fish’s mouth; he uses this to pay the tax.

When Masaccio was commissioned to create this piece, there was an ongoing controversy over the taxes levied in Florence. The depiction of Christ encouraging (and, in fact, enabling) Peter to pay was meant to be a propagandistic persuasion for dissenting viewers.

This piece is painted to be a continuous narrative, meaning that many events happen on the same canvas (the characters are repeated). In the center is the first event – a tax collector (dressed in the short orange robe) asks for the tribute money, and Jesus directs Peter to fish. On the left, Peter obeys. Finally, on the right side of the painting, Peter pays the collector with the money he found.

“The Tribute Money” is revolutionary for its introduction and inclusion of three-dimensional techniques.

Masaccio uses linear perspective to create a vanishing point right above Christ’s head; this draws the entire scene back into the mountains to create the illusion of depth. This is reinforced on the right, where the building is painted using shadows. Masaccio also employed atmospheric perspective to create a stormy background without detracting attention from the action at hand.

My opinion: Masaccio was a genius (and arguably the first to successfully create three dimensions). His manipulation of lines – both drawn and invisible – required mathematic skill and precision but were, in my opinion, incredibly necessary for the conception/execution of depth.

Also, note that Peter by the river is smaller than the figures in the forefront; although this may be the artistic ‘norm’ in modern times, it was considered an intelligent move by his peers. By the time the Renaissance finishes, there will be no confusion about a character’s location in a scene because the artist could now establish it so clearly.

More personally, I love the way that Masaccio designs the figures. Their bodies are modeled convincingly, and the colors of their clothes are bright (emphasized by his source of light). The folds and shadows of the men’s robes are realistic. And – finally – an artist has figured out how to paint halos that correlate to the direction of the wearers’ heads!

I really like religious paintings, which is weird because I’m not a very religious person. At any rate, this painting excites me because it was one of the first in the Early Renaissance (!!!!), my third-favorite art period!

Sources: http://www.finearttouch.com/Masaccio_s_Tribute_Money.html,
http://www.artbible.info/art/large/24.html, http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/masaccio/brancacc/tribute/tribute.html.

art and soul

Masaccio’s “The Tribute Money” showcases dimension developments