page_title: The Tribute Money (Masaccio)
section_title: The Brancacci Chapel
hierarchical_section_title: The Tribute Money (Masaccio) / The Brancacci Chapel
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Freskenzyklus der Brancacci-Kapelle in Santa Maria del Carmine in Florenz, Szenen aus dem Leben Petri, Szene: Der Zinsgroschen, Detail: Petrus und Christus
context_page_description: The Tribute Money is a fresco by the Italian Early Renaissance painter Masaccio, located in the Brancacci Chapel of the basilica of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence. Painted in the 1420s, it is widely considered among Masaccio's best work, and a vital part of the development of renaissance art.
  The painting is part of a cycle on the life of Saint Peter, and describes a scene from the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus directs Peter to find a coin in the mouth of a fish in order to pay the temple tax. Its importance relates to its revolutionary use of perspective and chiaroscuro. The Tribute Money suffered great damage in the centuries after its creation, until the chapel went through a thorough restoration in the 1980s.
context_section_description: The Brancacci Chapel, in the basilica of Santa Maria del Carmine, was founded around 1366/7 by Felice Brancacci. The chapel passed to Piero's nephew, Felice Brancacci, who some time between 1423 and 1425 commissioned the painter Masolino to decorate the walls with a series of frescoes from the life of Saint Peter. Peter was the name-saint of the founder, and the patron saint of the Brancacci family, but the choice also reflected support for the Roman papacy during the Great Schism.
  At some point Masolino was joined by another artist, the eighteen years younger Masaccio. Masolino eventually left, either for Hungary in 1425 or for Rome in 1427, leaving the completion of the chapel to Masaccio. In 1427 or 28, before the chapel was completed, Masaccio joined Masolino in Rome. Only in the 1480s were the frescos in the chapel finished, by Filippino Lippi. The Tribute Money, though, is considered Masaccio's work entirely.
  Over the centuries the frescoes were greatly altered and damaged. In 1746 the upper levels were painted over by the artist Vincenzo Meucci, covering up most of Masolino's work. Then, in 1771, the church was ruined by fire. The Brancacci Chapel, though structurally undamaged by the fire, suffered great damages to its frescoes. It was not until the years 1981–1990 that a full-scale restoration of the chapel was undertaken, restoring the frescoes to approximately their original state. The paintings had suffered some irreparable damage though, particularly the parts that were painted a secco: in The Tribute Money, the leaves on the trees were gone, while Christ's robe had lost much of its original azure brilliance.
caption: Christ with disciples in the painting.
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