The Tribute Money

Rembrandt · c. 1635
The Cleveland Museum of Art

One of Rembrandt’s smallest biblical prints: the sheet is about 7.5 by 10 centimetres. It was etched around 1635, with touches of engraving.

Jesus, with light shining behind his head, raises one hand and turns to the coin his questioners hold out. Behind them a crowd of turbaned men presses in, and at the left a man reads in a book.

From the text

“Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius (Matthew 22:19)

“Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?” (Matthew 22:20)

The artist’s own

A grand hall, with a round tower seen through an archway

Turbans and long robes of the East

Details

Jesus

Jesus raises one hand; rays of light shine behind his head.

Hands

Jesus’ open hand and his questioner’s meet in the middle of the group.

The crowd

Men in tall turbans press in to hear the answer.

Reading

At the left a man reads in a book on a ledge.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669). The Cleveland Museum of Art (Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr., 1941.654) · Etching with engraving · Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access: Collection API record "share_license_status": "CC0" (Creative Commons Zero, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).

The verses

Matt 22:15–21Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words. They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance. So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me? Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. “Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”