Flemish school of the mid-17th century.
"Tribute to Caesar".
Oil on panel.
Remains of the label on the back.
It presents restorations and faults.
Measurements: 40 x 55 cm; 76 x 59 cm (frame).
This work follows the original model made by Rubens in the work titled "The tribute money", painted in 1612 and nowadays conserved in the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. However, in this case the scene is opened vertically in such a way that the artist introduces a large table on which an open book with a padlock hanging from it can be seen, creating an optical effect like a kind of trompe l'oeil. The biblical theme of the scene is taken from the Gospel of Mark, where the question arises as to whether it was lawful for the Jews to pay taxes to Caesar, to which Jesus replied "To Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's".
During the 16th century, the Dutch realist style had a strong influence abroad, especially in Italy, but in the 17th century the picture was reversed. The Italian Renaissance spread throughout Europe, and Antwerp became the centre of the Flemish school, supplanting Bruges and acting as a centre for the penetration of Italian influences. Mannerist influences thus arrived in the Low Countries, superimposed on the 16th-century style. Many painters continued the style of the Flemish primitives, but others were so open to Renaissance influences that they stopped painting on panel. In fact, in this work we can appreciate this 17th-century trend, as, while retaining the detail and verism of the Flemish school, the artist opted for monumental figures and a classical spatial conception, typical of the Italian school.