Christ and the Tribute Money

Description The Pharisees tried to trap Christ by asking him whether people should pay taxes to the Romans. Pointing to a denarius (Roman coin with the image of the emperor), he replied: "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's" (Mark 12:17). Fetti painted this work while court artist to the Gonzagas, the ruling family of Mantua, as a copy of a painting by Titian (ca. 1490-1576), famous for his use of impasto (strokes of thick oil paint). Fetti also imitated Titian's signature on the neck of the Pharisee's shirt. For more information on this panel, please see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue no. 313, pp. 441-442.

Exhibitions

• Déjà Vu? The Repeating Image in Renaissance and Baroque Art. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2007-2008.

Provenance Marquess Filippo Marignoli, Rome and Spoleto, until 1898 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Marquess Francesco Marignoli, 1898 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome, 1899 [mode of acquisition unknown] [1900 catalogue supplement: no. 62]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Transcription] On neck of Pharisee's shirt: TICIANVS. F.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902