Italian Renaissance Art: Tribute Money by Masaccio
Art Found in the Italian Renaissance
Background Information
The Italian Renaissance from around the 14th to 17th century was categorized as a time of rebirth of classical values throughout Europe. Some of these artistic values included humanism, naturalism, the inclusion of perspective, and much more. The fresco I selected is titled Tribute Money created by Massaccio in Florence Italy, 1426-27. This particular fresco was produced in the early years of the Italian Renaissance and incorporates a high level of perspective painting and spatial organization.
Within the singular fresco, Massaccio successfully illustrates three different scenes. The overall scene encompasses the arrival of Jesus, who performs a miracle, and His Apostles to Capernaum, outlined in Matthew found in the Holy Bible. Starting in the middle, Jesus is depicted conversing with a tax collector and he is instructing Peter, one of his Apostles, on how to find the money to fulfill the collector's request. They initially didn't have the money necessary to pay. All the way on the left, we see Peter both fishing and discovering a coin by the water. Finally, the last scene on the right pictures Peter once again. He is paying the tax collector in front of his home. The fresco was created by Massaccio to highlight the rampant controversy of tax reform that was ever present in Florence, Italy. If you want to read an even more detailed description of these three scenes, click here!
Tribute Money painted by Masaccio in 1426-27
You can also view the fresco here!
The Influence of Humanism
Humanism, a philosophy created in the midst of the Italian Renaissance, had a great influence on the masterpiece painted by Masaccio. The humanism belief placed an extra emphasis on the individual person which can be seen throughout this fresco. Humans serve as the star of this painting as the landscape and background take more of a back seat. Masaccio wanted his work to revolve around the human figures in his painting, so he paid careful attention to their details.
The figures are all beautifully sculpted and each Apostle conveys emotion on their face in a distinct way. For example, Christ wears a calm look on his face in the center of the fresco, while Peter wears a face full of skepticism and confusion. By allowing the people depicted to show emotion, Masaccio creates an even more detailed scene. Emotions provide the viewer with the ability to notice an important element of human nature in this work of art. Without emotion, the figures seem detached and less realistic. The implementation of these different emotions adds so much depth to the piece as a whole.
Also, in terms of color, the painter is successful in drawing the viewer's attention to the individuals present in the scenes by clothing them in more vibrant and bold colors. While the colors aren't overly striking, the use of primary colors on Jesus' clothes like blue and red, instantly draws your eye to the middle scene. The colors found in the mountains and in the house are toned down which defocused them in a sense allowing the humans to steal the show. As one can see, Tribute Money is filled with multiple elements that reflect the philosophy of Humanism.
Visit this link here if you want a little more information on the philosophy of Humanism!
Analysis
What categorizes a work of art as a fresco? Fresco paintings gained popularity during the European Renaissance Era. They are known as paintings that utilize walls as their canvases. The painters would continue to apply plaster that was still wet on the walls and create stunning works of art. The exact definition is also found here! For example, Tribute Money is a well-known and notable fresco found on the walls of the Brancacci Chapel in Florence, Italy. I believe that art found in chapels tends to be even more awe-inspiring.
The perspective found within this piece is something important to note. Masaccio employed a one-point linear perspective where if you were to draw lines over his work, they would converge at a single point, Jesus' face. Perspective not only provides depth but also allows the figures to seem more human-like and real. Perspective is just another way the painter attempted to adhere to the humanist philosophy!
The use of tone is another art element that can be seen as greatly significant in this fresco. In particular, the implementation of shadows by the figure's feet highlights the use of tone. Masaccio incorporated light right up until the group's feet to create an illusion of a shadow, making them seem super realistic. Having a shadow is quite a distinguishable human characteristic. When you take even a general look at this painting, the group's collective shadow is quite noticeable with the utilization of a darker shade of brown on the ground level. The end of this article does a wonderful job of discussing the importance of the incorporation of shadows in the piece.
Aesthetic Appreciation
I personally really enjoy looking at the fresco created by Masaccio! While I don't think I would want a piece like this in my home, I find it really impressive that an artist is able to incorporate three scenes in one place that all hold so many meaningful details. One scene is a lot to tackle on its own, so the fact that Masaccio is able to beautifully depict multiple parts of a story is truly amazing! I also felt a larger connection to this piece because I grew up in the Christian faith, so the story depicted was something that I was increasingly familiar with and held a more meaningful element to me.
Sources:
Emil, Kren, and Marx Daniel. “Masaccio.” Web Gallery of Art, Searchable Fine Arts Image Database, https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?%2Fhtml%2Fm%2Fmasaccio%2Fbrancacc%2Ftribute%2Ftribute.html.
Graham, Dr. Heather, and Dr. Heather Graham. “Humanism in Italian Renaissance Art.” Smarthistory, https://smarthistory.org/humanism-italian-renaissance-art/.
“Italian Renaissance Art.” Italian Renaissance Art, 2022, https://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/art_movements/italian-renaissance/italian-renaissance-art.html.
The National Gallery, London. “Glossary.” Fresco | Glossary | National Gallery, London, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/glossary/fresco#:~:text=A%20fresco%20is%20a%20type,spread%20over%20the%20wall%20surface.
Zucker, Dr. Steven, and Dr. Beth Harris. “Masaccio, the Tribute Money and Expulsion in the Brancacci Chapel.” Smarthistory, https://smarthistory.org/masaccio-the-tribute-money-in-the-brancacci-chapel/.
Hyperlinks:
https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/masaccio/brancacc/tribute/tribute.html
https://smarthistory.org/humanism-italian-renaissance-art/
https://smarthistory.org/masaccio-the-tribute-money-in-the-brancacci-chapel/
Hi Libbey, I really enjoy your choice of art, something that is extremely appealing to me is your analysis of the perspective of the painting. Analyzing the linear perspective shows that Jesus is the center of the piece and everything naturally points into them creating a very natural effect. I really like how you pointed out how each character in the work shows emotion, creating the theme of confusion or conflict. I think that you did a very good job with explaining how tone affects this piece, the shading is done in such a way to encapsulate that the people look hyper realistic.
ReplyDeleteHello Libbey, I like the fresco you chose to discuss for this assignment as I haven’t seen it before. I can see what you were talking about in your post and wholeheartedly agree that this fresco exhibits a large amount of depth using perspective and spatial organization. Having the man crouched by the river away from the main group adds to the layers of this fresco in a beautiful way. The two figures on the right being slightly larger than the main group and the lone man to the far left truly makes one feel that they are looking at a real road and landscape. While I like the fresco, I don’t enjoy its layout for the process of telling a story. While your eye naturally goes to the large group in the middle and can then be led by the psychic line Christ has made by pointing to the left, I don’t see anything else that guides the viewer to the right of the image and the conclusion of the story. I enjoy how this painting feels somewhat like a first stepping stone into humanistic art. While it is made clear that the people are the focus of this painting with their crisp rendering and bright, vivid clothing, the golden halos present on all of Jesus and his disciples make it clear that this is very much a religious painting and not yet focused on everyday people. Nice work, I really liked reading your post!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post Libbey. Beautiful artwork and I agree that having the man on the left side of the artwork, crouched by the river adds to the layers of this art. There is a lot going on. I think that you explained well in your blog about this artwork and how you felt about this artwork and what stood out to you. This artwork does show some emotional feelings and I agree that there are some separations among the people based on looking at the artwork. I was able to learn more background history of the tribute money. Great blog post overall Libbey!
ReplyDeleteHi Libby, thanks for sharing a bit about this artwork! I absolutely love the scenery incorporated into the background and find the overall artistry quite appealing. You did very well defining the influences humanism had on this piece of work, I agree with your connections. One detail I noticed was the halos on every men, aside from two. I am not too familiar with the background of this scene, but I think its an interesting detail from the artist. Moreover, I really enjoyed how thorough you were in describing Masaccio's work, such as the one-linear perspective technique utilized. Thanks for sharing!
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