The interest penny (Masaccio)
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| The interest penny |
|---|
| Masaccio , 1425 to 1428 |
| fresco |
| 255 × 598 cm |
| Santa Maria del Carmine |
The Zinsgroschen , in literature also "The miracle of the Zinsgroschen" is a fresco in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence . It is the most important part of the famous cycle of frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel , created by various masters from 1424 to 1485. This fresco was made by Masaccio between 1425 and 1428 and is considered one of his masterpieces.
History of origin
The frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel were donated by Felice Brancacci , a wealthy merchant and politician and opponent of the Medici . Masolino began frescoing the top zone in 1424, painting the ceiling and lunettes of the chapel. Today these frescoes are destroyed. Masaccio joined him from 1425 , and they executed the murals in the upper zone. Masolino left Florence in the summer of 1425, so that Masaccio worked alone from that point on. He left Florence for Rome in 1428 and died there that same year, the chapel was not finished at that time. The client, Felice Brancacci, fell out of favor with the Medici in 1436 and was banished. The painting of the chapel was suspended until 1481. Only then did Filippino Lippi complete the three missing frescoes until 1485. It is possible that the descendants of Felice Brancacci obtained his rehabilitation , so that work on the chapel could be resumed. The fresco, like the others in the chapel, survived the fire in the church in 1771 unscathed.
Historical background
For the motivation of the founder, of all things, for this scene - rarely shown in Italy - the literature assumes that Brancacci wanted to express himself politically with this image. Florence was waging a very costly war against Milan at this time and was dependent on additional income from the collection of new taxes . For this reason, the municipality planned the introduction of a land register in which the possessions should be cataloged as precisely as possible, which met with resistance, especially from the wealthy classes. Brancacci, although rich himself, turned against them with this representation and sided with the introduction. The picture can be seen as an indication of the duty of each individual citizen after payment of the money due to the state. The land register was introduced in 1427.
The representation
The scene shown was made from a passage in the Bible , it is in the Gospel of Matthew , there chapter 17, verses 24 to 27: “When they came to Capernaum, Peter came up to take the temple penny and said: Do not look after your master to give the temple egg? He said: Yes. And when he got home, Jesus came before him and asked: What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings on earth take duties or taxes: from their children or from strangers? When he answered, Of strangers, Jesus said to him, The children are free. But so that we don't offend them, go to the lake and cast the fishing rod, and take the first fish that comes up; and if you open his mouth you will find a piece of four drachms ; take that and give it to them for me and you ”.
The fresco is designed according to the text - with a slight modification, in contrast to the text the first scene takes place outdoors. According to the biblical passage, it is divided into three scenes: the group's conversation with the tax collector, in the center of the fresco, the catch of the fish by Peter - top left - and the handing over of the coin found to the tax collector - right scene. In terms of composition, Masaccio uses a diagonal running from right to front.
The middle segment
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It represents the moment in which the customs officer (he is shown in a red robe in the back view) approaches the group, asks his question and receives the answers. The members of the group are shown with strong emotion, although their posture is calm. They are dressed in ancient robes - tunics and togas - the dignity of their depiction is reminiscent of the ancient Roman gravitas . Their facial features show indignation and reluctance and are strongly interrelated. In the figure with the red coat to the right of the customs officer, Masaccio depicted himself. Jesus points to Peter with his right hand and gives him the order, who himself points to the scene in which the miracle occurs with his hand movement. Masaccio leaves plenty of room for the dynamics of the group scene. The background of the picture, although realistically executed, consists of a desolate mountain range, hardly depicted in color, and a few almost bare trees, only inserted for reasons of perspective. Nothing should distract the viewer's attention from the central action. The strict incidence of light from the right and the folds of the colorful robes give the picture additional plasticity.
The left scene
Peter has taken off his toga and is only wearing the tunic. The scene shows the moment in which he finds the coin in the caught fish, just as Jesus predicted.
The right scene
It forms the conclusion of the painted tradition. Peter pays the tax collector the coin he finds, just as Jesus instructed him. Masaccio uses a central perspective representation for the house in the background , the vanishing point of the perspective is exactly in the face of Christ.
The picture is considered to be one of Masaccio's main works. The specialty lies in the realistic representation of both the figures and the entire composition as well as the natural representation of the sea, mountains and clouds. Max Semrau says: "The clear and convincing arrangement of the figures in the room, their individual characteristics, the expressive gestures, which are limited to a few actors in the foreground, give the representation a completely new, groundbreaking power and urgency". Like the others in the chapel, it is one of the most important and revolutionary works of the Italian Renaissance.
literature
- Herbert von Eine , Masaccio's “Zinsgroschen” , published in the series of the Working Group for Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Issue 140, Cologne and Opladen 1967, ISBN 978-3-663-00772-2 , (the author's art-historical study with detailed image section and a discussion appendix with contributions by Wolfgang Krönig, Hubert Jedin , Erich Dinkler , Gerhard Gloege ; table of contents )
- Andreas Grote, Florence - Shape and History of a Community , 5th edition, Prestel Verlag, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-7913-0511-5
- Patrick de Rynck, The Art of Reading Pictures - The Old Masters Deciphering and Understanding , Parthas Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-86601-695-6
- Loretta Santini, Florence, The Cradle of Italian Art , Nova Lux, Giusti di Becocci, Florence 1973
- Max Semrau, The Art of the Renaissance in Italy and in the North , 3rd edition, Vol. III from Wilhelm Lübke, Grundriss der Kunstgeschichte , 14th edition, Paul Neff Verlag, Esslingen 1912
- Herbert Alexander Stützer, painting of the Italian Renaissance , DuMont's library of great painters, DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1979, ISBN 3-7701-1118-4
- Rolf Toman (ed.), The Art of the Italian Renaissance - Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Drawing , Tandem Verlag, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-8331-4582-7
- Karl Woermann, The Italian portrait painting of the Renaissance , Vol. 4 of the guides to art , Paul Neff Verlag (Max Schreiber), Esslingen 1906
- Robert E. Wolf / Ronald Millen, Birth of the Modern Era , Art im Bild series, Naturalis Verlag, Munich, ISBN 3-88703-705-7
- Stefano Zuffi, The Renaissance - Art, Architecture, History, Masterpieces , DuMont Buchverlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8321-9113-9
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Zuffi, Die Renaissance , p. 94
- ↑ Santini, Florence, Cradle of the Renaissance , p. 62
- ↑ a b Toman (Ed.), The Art of the Italian Renaissance , p. 240
- ↑ Toman (Ed.), The Art of the Italian Renaissance , p. 245
- ↑ Grote, Florenz - Shape and History of a Community , p. 117
- ↑ a b c Toman (Ed.), The Art of the Italian Renaissance , p. 244
- ↑ a b de Rynck, The Art of Reading Pictures , p. 23
- ↑ The original quote in the Luther Bible reads a two-penny piece . For encyclopedic reasons this word is replaced by the translation from Toman (ed.), Die Kunst der Italien Renaissance , p. 240.
- ^ German Bible Society, The Bible, based on Martin Luther's translation, Luther Bible Standard Edition, German Bible Society, Stuttgart 1985
- ↑ Semrau, The Art of the Renaissance in Italy and in the North , p. 11
- ^ Stützer, Painting of the Italian Renaissance , p. 9
- ↑ Toman (Ed.), The Art of the Italian Renaissance , p. 241
- ↑ de Rynck, The Art of Reading Pictures , p. 21
- ^ Woermann, Italian portrait painting of the Renaissance , p. 36
- ↑ a b c de Rynck, The Art of Reading Pictures , p. 22
- ↑ Wolf / Millen, Birth of the Modern Era , p. 17
- ^ Zuffi, Die Renaissance , p. 75
- ↑ Semrau, The Art of the Renaissance in Italy and in the North , p. 11
- ↑ Santini, Florence , p. 62