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The Tribute Money

ca. 1610-1615

Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez and radio journalist Hana Baba on “The Tribute Money”
Gallery 14

Narrator: Artist Peter Paul Rubens built an incredibly successful career in the seventeenth century, eventually working for royal courts around Europe. In his artistic toolkit were color, movement and emotion, which he combined brilliantly to unfold vivid stories before our eyes.
Here, Christ, in red, is confronted by a hostile group of Pharisees. They ask, should the Jews pay taxes to their Roman overlords, or is their loyalty due to God alone? It’s a trap. Denouncing the Romans may result in his death. But Christ responds simply and calmly. He points to a coin featuring Caesar’s head, saying “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God, the things that are God’s”.
Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez:
Isabella Lores-Chavez: By depicting Christ in this way, Rubens is really showing you exactly his words, translated into an image. Meanwhile, you have the reactions from the Pharisees and they’re variations on shock and even outrage. Rubens was a master draftsman, which meant that he spent so much time drawing faces and bodies and hands and feet to really understand how to capture a very individualized, very lifelike figure. And this was often done through the use of models.
Narrator: Rubens deepened his expertise in giving his work a sense of life and realism on a trip to Italy, where he studied Renaissance art and ancient classical sculpture.
Isabella Lores-Chavez: And I think this painting really gives us a peek into his versatility in one single composition. So yes, he's certainly a master at controlling our attention.

Peter Paul Rubens, an exceptionally talented artist, scholar, and diplomat, forged a distinguished career at courts throughout Europe. In this early painting, his masterfully blended brushwork, brilliant colors, and expressive figures bring to life a provocative biblical passage. In an attempt to force Christ to oppose either civil or religious law, Jewish elders ask him whether they should be required to pay taxes to their occupiers, the Romans. Here, Christ displays the emperor’s image on a gold coin and gestures heavenward, declaring, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.”

Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez and radio journalist Hana Baba on “The Tribute Money”
Gallery 14

Narrator: Artist Peter Paul Rubens built an incredibly successful career in the seventeenth century, eventually working for royal courts around Europe. In his artistic toolkit were color, movement and emotion, which he combined brilliantly to unfold vivid stories before our eyes.
Here, Christ, in red, is confronted by a hostile group of Pharisees. They ask, should the Jews pay taxes to their Roman overlords, or is their loyalty due to God alone? It’s a trap. Denouncing the Romans may result in his death. But Christ responds simply and calmly. He points to a coin featuring Caesar’s head, saying “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God, the things that are God’s”.
Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez:
Isabella Lores-Chavez: By depicting Christ in this way, Rubens is really showing you exactly his words, translated into an image. Meanwhile, you have the reactions from the Pharisees and they’re variations on shock and even outrage. Rubens was a master draftsman, which meant that he spent so much time drawing faces and bodies and hands and feet to really understand how to capture a very individualized, very lifelike figure. And this was often done through the use of models.
Narrator: Rubens deepened his expertise in giving his work a sense of life and realism on a trip to Italy, where he studied Renaissance art and ancient classical sculpture.
Isabella Lores-Chavez: And I think this painting really gives us a peek into his versatility in one single composition. So yes, he's certainly a master at controlling our attention.

Artist: Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Title: The Tribute Money
Date: ca. 1610-1615
Object Type: Painting
Medium: Oil on wood panel
Dimensions: 56 3/4 x 74 3/4 in. (144.1 x 189.9 cm) Framed: 76 3/4 x 90 3/4 in. (194.945 x 230.505 cm)
Credit Line: Museum purchase, M.H. de Young Art Trust Fund
Accession Number: 44.11

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de Young

Legion of Honor

de Young

Legion of Honor

The Tribute Money

Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez and radio journalist Hana Baba on “The Tribute Money”
Gallery 14

Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez and radio journalist Hana Baba on “The Tribute Money”
Gallery 14

Currently on view

Lux Aeterna, 1914

The Road Near the Farm, 1871

The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, 1626

New acquisitions

Untitled (Pei Kené 1), 2022

While the Night hides and the Shadow seeks, 2024

de Young

Legion of Honor

de Young

Legion of Honor

Social Sharing

Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez and radio journalist Hana Baba on “The Tribute Money” Gallery 14

Transcript

Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez and radio journalist Hana Baba on “The Tribute Money” Gallery 14

Transcript

Exhibition History

Bibliography

Lux Aeterna, 1914

The Road Near the Farm, 1871

The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, 1626

Untitled (Pei Kené 1), 2022

While the Night hides and the Shadow seeks, 2024

Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez and radio journalist Hana Baba on “The Tribute Money”
Gallery 14

Curator Isabella Lores-Chavez and radio journalist Hana Baba on “The Tribute Money”
Gallery 14