BLOG 1- Masaccio-The Tribute Money
The Tribute Money, painted by Masaccio, is a fine example of his most mature art. It is a fresco painted in 1427 and is located in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence, Italy.
Masaccio was truly skilled painter whose work illustrates humanism (Masaccio). This religious painting is a wonderful reflection of humanism, a common philosophy of this time, but this artist combines both religion and humanism in this painting.
Three major aspects of this painting stand out: humanism, how three different scenes are combined into one scene as well as the overall beauty of the painting. Humanism is this focus on the individual people, and this painting depicts the emotion in the expressions of the apostles and Jesus very well. It shows the frustration and anger in dealing with the tax collector with Jesus appearing very calm and serene. The twelve apostles are painted in such detail that it reflects a mixture of such emotions. The face of Peter especially reflects his frustration when he is told by Jesus that he needs to go fishing right now, and he and Jesus both are pointing at the water. The next major aspect that makes this painting so wonderful is how three different scenes are flawlessly painted together in one seamless scene. The first scene is in the middle with Jesus telling Peter to fish, the second Peter catching the fish off to the far left and in the third Peter is handing the coin from the fish to the tax collector. This painting is also very aesthetically pleasing in appearance with colors combined nicely and an extensive background of mountains. The people also appear realistic in both their appearance and stance.
Here are some links to view The Tribute Money
http://history.hanover.edu/courses/art/mastrib.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamtart/34689768/
Work Cited:
“Masaccio.” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaccio>
Runnerlks24's Blog 
The page looks great! I liked your analysis of the work.
-Bender
Guess I should actually respond according to the class criteria.
I checked out your links and your information checks out. You didn’t really get into why you liked the work, but as I said before you had a great analysis and connected the painting to humanism very well. If you had not mentioned it, I would not have recognized the 3 scenes in the painting. Good work!
-Bender
The clarity of the emotions in the expressions, the three scenes connected flawlessly together and the painted mountains in the background are precisely why I like this fresco 🙂
I also did not notice the three scenes until I read your critique of the work. Upon reading it I was able to understand the narrative which made me able to enjoy the painting that much more. And, I agree with you wholeheartedly in that this painting is a great reflection of humanism in the Italian Renaissance. My computer doesn’t have the best clarity but in the image of just Peter and the tax collector it almost looks as if Peter is giving the tax collector an intimidating look like “You have the money, now get out of here.” I wonder if that was the artists intent or if that is just my view? I also love the mountains in the background as well.