The Parable of the Tribute Money

Description

The New Testament parable of the tribute money addresses the division between worldly and divine power. Here, the artist depicted Christ in the center of a civic square with one hand pointing toward a king wearing a crown and an ermine robe and the other toward God above. Encouraged by Christ’s words to show each authority its due, the crowd shows deference to both the king and God via facial expression, pose, and gesture. Parables were enduringly popular on prints, stained glass, and decorative objects for their relevance to the issues and choices made by everyday citizens.

Provenance

Private collection, Germany (unidentified collector's mark: PMG (not in Lugt) (?-1992); with Thomas Le Claire Kunsthandel, Hamburg, 1992 (1992); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1992)

The Parable of the Tribute Money

Master of the Egmont Albums

c. 1580–1600

Accession Number

1992.115

Medium

Pen and brown ink, traces of pen and black ink and black chalk, on paper; framing lines in brown ink

Dimensions

Sheet: 27.2 x 35.4 cm (10 11/16 x 13 15/16 in.)

Classification

Drawing

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Dudley P. Allen Fund