Outside the European Tradition #3

Select and fully identity two works of art that visually convey a narrative. One of your choices must be from beyond the European tradition. Identify the subject of each narrative and discuss the means used to convey the narrative.


In a funeral banner that was discovered at the tomb of the Marquise of Dai in 1972 is a narrative that encompasses nearly all of the aspects of death and the afterlife. At the top of the T-shaped banner is heaven, where dragons and immortal beings congregate below two orbs that represent the sun and the raven. At the bottom of the T is the underworld, which is also joined by a scene of the funeral of Marquise Dai. In the center is a figural form of Marquise Dai who is awaiting her ascent to heaven. All of the scenes are combined together through the use of dragons whose tails reach down towards the underworld and whose heads reach upwards towards heaven.



In Masaccio’s Tribute Money, a seldom-represented narrative from Matthew is portrayed. As Christ and his disciples try to enter the city of Capernaum, they are stopped at the entrance and told they must pay a tax before they can enter. As the story goes, Christ tells Peter to go to the shore of Lake Galilee and take the money from the mouth of a fish, which will be used to pay the tax. In Masaccio’s painting, three different aspects of this story are portrayed at the same time. In the center, Christ and his disciples are seen congregating and trying to figure out what to do. On the left side of the frame the viewer can see Peter who is taking the coin from the mouth of a fish. On the right side of the frame Peter is paying the tax collector. In total, Peter is shown three times in the same painting. Many think that this painting may be a stab on the income tax that was being implemented in Florence during this time period.