Tribute Money (c1425). Fresco. 255 x 400. 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. 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. The scene depicted in The Tribute Money is drawn from Matthew 17:24-27: And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25. He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26. Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee; Matthew 17:24=27 The story is only found in the Gospel of Matthew, which according to Christian tradition was written by the apostle Matthew, himself a tax collector according to Matthew 9:9-13. The passage has been used as a Christian justification for the legitimacy of secular authority, and is often seen in conjunction with another passage, the render unto Caesar. story. In Matthew 22:15-22, a group of Pharisees try to trick Christ into incriminating himself, by asking if it is lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not. Pointing out Caesar's image on the coin, he replies Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. 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 devises. 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.