Focus on The Tribute Money (Masaccio) and analyze the Composition.
The painting diverges somewhat from the biblical story, in that the tax collector confronts the whole group of Christ and the disciples, and the entire scene takes place outdoors. The story is told in three parts that do not occur sequentially, but the narrative logic is still maintained, through compositional devices. The central scene is that of the tax collector demanding the tribute. The head of Christ is the vanishing point of the painting, drawing the eyes of the spectator there. Both Christ and Peter then point to the left hand part of the painting, where the next scene takes place in the middle background: Peter taking the money out of the mouth of the fish. The final scene – where Peter pays the tax collector – is at the right, set apart by the framework of an architectural structure.This work is among the first paintings to utilize a vanishing point, in the new system of single-point perspective, in this case converging on Christ's head. Also, it is one of the first paintings that does away with the use of a head-cluster. A technique employed by earlier Proto-Renaissance artists, such as Giotto or Duccio. If you were to walk into the painting, you could walk around Jesus Christ, in the semicircle created, and back out the painting again with ease.
Christ and the disciples are placed in a semicircle, reflecting the shape of the chapel's apse. The tax collector, on the other hand, stands outside the holy space. While the group of holy men are dressed almost entirely in robes of pastel pink and blue, the official wears a shorter tunic of a striking vermilion. The colour adds to the impertinence expressed through his gestures. Another way contrast is achieved is in the way – both in the central scene and on the right – the tax collector's postures are copying almost exactly those of Peter, only seen from the opposite angle. This gives a three-dimensional quality to the figures, allowing the spectator to view them from all sides.
vanishing point apse Jesus Renaissance Christ disciple perspective pastel tunic Giotto tax collector Duccio left Peter Renaissance art