Masaccio (The Tribute Money)
Tags: Early Renaissance, Fresco
The Tribute Money is one of many frescos painted by Masaccio (and a lesser artist Masolino) in the Brancacci chapel. All of the frescos tell the story of the life of St. Peter (considered to be the first Pope). The story of the Tribute Money is told in three separate scenes within the same fresco, this way of telling an entire story in one painting is called a continuous narrative.
Here’s What’s Happening in the painting:
A Roman tax collector (in a short orange tunic and no halo) demands tax money from Christ and the twelve apostles who don’t have the money to pay. Christ points to the left and says to Peter “so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” Christ has performed a miracle by making the money to pay the tax appear in the mouth of a fish. In the center, we see the tax collector demanding the money, and Christ instructing Peter. On the far left, we see Peter kneeling down and removing money from the mouth of a fish, and on the far right he pays the tax collector. The tax collector appears twice, and St. Peter appears three times. We are so used to one moment appearing in one frame (think of a comic book for example) that the unfolding of the story within one image (and out of order!) seems very strange to us. But with this technique, which was also used by the ancient Romans, Masaccio is able to make an entire drama unfold on the wall of the Brancacci chapel.
The tax collector points down with his right hand, and holds his left palm open impatiently insisting on the money from Christ and the apostles. He stands with his back to us, helping to create an illiusion of space. Like Donatello’s St. Mark from Or San Michele, he also stands so naturally, in contrapposto, with his weight on his left leg, and his right knee bent. The apostles (Christ’s followers) look worried and anxiously watch to see what will happen. St. Peter is confused, as he seems to be questioning Christ and pointing over to the river, but he also looks like he is willing to believe Christ.
