c. by diminishing the size of the trees in the background
Explanation:
The Tribute Money (1427) by Tommaso de Giovanni "Masaccio" (1401 -1428), is a fresco of the Brancacci Chapel in the Del Camine Church in Florence. The Renaissance work represents the episode in which Christ pays the Capernaum collector the due tribute to enter the city. Since the apostles had no money, Jesus commanded Peter to throw the hook into the water and to take the first fish caught in the mouth, the coin needed for payment. The episode develops in three distinct scenes: in the center, the collector talking to Jesus with his disciples: on the left, St. Peter fulfilling the order and on the right, giving the tribute to the collector. The artist's religious intentions are joined by the free and determined spirit of the new man advocated by the Renaissance.
Masaccio, also known as the “father of the Renaissance” had a career of just seven years, but still built the foundation for what would become one of the greatest artistic movements. His technique and development from a spatial perspective would become a standard and set parameters for the succeeding Renaissance painters. By breaking with Gothic traditions, returning to classicism and employing new techniques in perspective, Masaccio created a style that shaped the development of the Florentine Renaissance.
To achieve linear perspective, adding depth and three-dimensionality to the painting, one must draw a horizon line to connect the viewer's eye to a point escape line - such as where the sky meets the ground. Horizontal lines called orthogonal lines are then drawn over screen space or at work. The point where the orthogonal lines meet is called the vanishing point. One can compare this with train tracks in the distance. The use of the vanishing point not only allows the artist to produce three-dimensional objects, but also to control the viewer's eye and reinforce the theme, as can be seen in the The Tribute Money in the head of Jesus.
