TIZIANO Vecellio
(b. 1490, Pieve di Cadore, d. 1576, Venezia)

The Tribute Money

1516
Oil on panel, 75 x 56 cm
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

"Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:21) was a fundamental text for relations between Church and State, and sound advice for the patron Alfonso d'Este, who owed allegiance to both the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor.