Masaccio’s The Holy Trinity with Donors creates an illusion of space using linear perspective, chiaroscuro (light and shadow), and shading techniques. These elements add depth and structure to the painting, making it appear more lifelike.
Another fresco by Masaccio, The Tribute Money, uses similar techniques to create volume and realism. In this fresco, Peter is shown paying the Roman tax collector. The use of chiaroscuro—an Italian term meaning "light and shadow"—helps define the forms, making them appear three-dimensional. A highlight, transitional tones, and cast shadows make objects, like Peter’s head and drapery, appear solid. The light source in The Tribute Money is consistent, coming from the upper right, which helps unify the figures and the background. The shadows fall naturally, similar to how light works in real life.
Masaccio builds on techniques developed by Giotto, who experimented with intuitive perspective. While Giotto used shading and overlapping figures to suggest depth, Masaccio takes it further by applying mathematical perspective. This makes his paintings appear more structured and spatially accurate.
In The Tribute Money, located in the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence, Masaccio combines two biblical stories from the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 17 and 22. The scene shows Jesus and his disciples being questioned about paying taxes. Jesus tells Peter to catch a fish, which will have a coin in its mouth, enough to pay the tax. The story is painted as a continuous narrative, meaning multiple moments from the story appear in a single image.
Above this fresco, another panel shows The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. The Archangel Michael is pushing them out of the Garden of Eden. Their bodies are idealized with muscular forms, similar to ancient Greek sculptures. The lighting and shading in the fresco emphasize their expressions and gestures. Some scholars suggest Adam covers his face out of shame, while Eve hides her body in embarrassment.
In The Tribute Money, figures stand in contrapposto, a natural stance where weight shifts onto one leg. This technique, first used in ancient Greek sculptures, makes the figures appear balanced. The tax collector is positioned in the center, with his hand outstretched. Peter, on the right, gives him the coin, while on the left, Peter is also shown pulling the coin from the fish’s mouth. Jesus is in the center, surrounded by disciples, pointing toward Peter.
The perspective lines of the fresco lead to a single vanishing point located behind Jesus’s head. This technique directs attention to the central figure. The background also fades in color, using aerial perspective (or atmospheric perspective), where distant objects appear lighter and less detailed, similar to how landscapes look in real life.
The fresco also reflects theological ideas from Augustine of Hippo, who wrote about the City of God and the City of Man. The right side, where taxes are paid, represents the temporary world of men, while the left side, with mountains and open space, symbolizes the eternal world of God. This is a “perspective” augmented by Masaccio’s use of linear perspective. The placement of Jesus in the center, his head placed in front of the vanishing point, visually separates these two realms.
Masaccio’s The Tribute Money tells a biblical story using symbols that divide the painting into two parts, representing two different worlds. The right side, where Peter hands a coin to the tax collector, is set in front of a building. This part of the fresco represents the City of Man, the temporary world where people live, work, and follow earthly laws. The left side of the fresco, where Peter pulls the coin from the mouth of a fish near the water, is surrounded by mountains and open space. This represents the City of God, which is eternal and connected to faith and divine truth.
Matthew Chapter 17
24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"
25 "Yes," he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, "What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?"
26 When he said, "From foreigners," Jesus said to him, "Then the subjects are exempt.
27 But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you."
Matthew Chapter 22
15 Then the Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech.
16 They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status.
17 Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
18 Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
19 Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then they handed him the Roman coin.
20 He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
21 They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
22 When they heard this they were amazed, and leaving him they went away.
The story in the painting comes from the Gospel of Matthew, where tax collectors ask Peter if Jesus pays the temple tax. Jesus tells Peter to catch a fish, and inside its mouth, he will find a coin to pay the tax. This story connects to another passage in Matthew, where the Pharisees try to trick Jesus by asking whether people should pay taxes to the Roman Emperor, Caesar. If Jesus says no, he could be accused of disobeying Roman rule. If he says yes, it could seem like he supports Roman occupation. Instead, Jesus asks them to show him a Roman coin and points out that it has Caesar’s image on it. He then says, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.”
The painting visually separates these two ideas. The right side, with the building, represents the world where people must follow human laws, like paying taxes. The architecture has carefully drawn perspective lines that lead toward the vanishing point behind Jesus’ head. This part of the painting is structured and orderly, symbolizing human civilization and the rules of society.
The left side, where Peter retrieves the coin from the fish, is open and natural. The mountains in the background fade into the distance using aerial perspective, a technique where distant objects appear lighter and blurrier. This side represents the City of God, which is eternal and not ruled by human governments. Nature stretches beyond what can be seen, symbolizing the endlessness of divine truth.
Jesus is placed at the center of the composition, dividing the two realms. He points toward Peter, directing him to get the coin, but he also acts as a bridge between the physical world and the spiritual one. His placement suggests that faith does not ignore worldly responsibilities, but it also points toward something greater than earthly life.
The tax collector stands in contrapposto, a natural pose where his weight shifts onto one leg. His bright red robe makes him stand out. In the right scene, he is reversed, mirroring his earlier stance as he receives the coin. Peter appears three times in the painting, first listening to Jesus, then getting the coin from the fish, and finally paying the tax. This use of continuous narrative—showing multiple moments of a story in one image—was common in Renaissance frescoes.
The halos above Jesus and the apostles are elliptical instead of flat circles, following the perspective lines of the painting. This was different from earlier religious art, where halos were usually drawn as floating disks. The soft shading on the figures, created with chiaroscuro, helps make them look more three-dimensional.
Masaccio’s composition reinforces the message of the story. Jesus acknowledges that people must participate in the City of Man, following earthly rules, but he also emphasizes that the City of God is separate and eternal. The painting visually divides these two ideas, using architecture to symbolize human law and nature to represent divine truth. The perspective lines lead the viewer’s eye toward Jesus, reinforcing his role as the one who connects both worlds.
Masaccio’s fresco techniques influenced later artists like Leonardo da Vinci, who used pyramidal composition to create balanced figures, and Mantegna, who experimented with foreshortening. These techniques continued to shape Renaissance painting, setting the foundation for realistic depictions of space and form.
