(Pieve di Cadore, circa 1485/90–1576 Venice)
The Tribute Money,
oil on canvas, 108.3 x 103.5 cm, framed

b>Provenance:
possibly commissioned by Gonzalo Moran de Alvarez (see documentation);
in the burial chapel of Melchor Maldonado in the church of Saint Hermenegildo, Seville;
sold by Don Manuel de Sousa, on behalf of the church of Saint Hermenegildo, 1874;
purchased by José Ignacio Mirò;
collection of the 17th Duke of the Infantado, Joaquín Arteaga y Echagüe (1870-1947), from 1926;
and thence by descent to the present owner

Documentation:
Archivo historico de la Iglesia de San Hermenegildo, Inventario de bienes y alajas pertenecientes a la Sta. Casa de S. Hermenegildo Rey de esta Ciudad de Sevilla, 14 September 1820: “En el altar del Sagrario se hallan tres lienzos de mano de Ticiano los quales estan colocados en el primer cuerpo y faltan en el altar los demas que se llevaron los franceses”;
Sale Don Manuel de Sousa (on behalf of the church of Saint Ermenegildo), 18 April 1874, where purchased by Don Josè Ignacio Mirò [official copy by the Notary Don Josè Toral y Sagristà, 25 June 1926]: “D.n Man.l de Sousa Pro. Adm.or del Santuario de S.n Hermenegildo de esta Ciudad, certifico q.e facultado p.r la corporacion de dicha iglesia revendido al S.r D.n Josè Ignacio Mirò dos cuadros pinturado al oleo sobre lienzo […] representons al uno la parabola de la moneda y el otro Pilatos presentando el exce homo al pueblo […] pintador p.r Ticiano Ve Vecelio por encargo del S.r D.n Gonzalo Moran de Alvarez”

Literature:
D. Ortiz De Zuniga, Annales eclesiasticos y seculares de la muy noble, y muy leal ciudad de Sevilla, metropoli de la Andaluzia […], 1677, p. 612;
A. Ponz, Viage de España […], vol. 9, Madrid 1780, pp. 140-141;
Guia de forasteros de la ciudad de Sevilla, Sevilla 1832, part II, p. 61;
F. Gonzales de Leon, Noticia Artistica […] de esta muy noble, muy leal, muy heroica e invicta Ciudad de Sevilla, vol. I, Sevilla 1844, mentioned
p. 240;
H. E. Wethey, The Paintings of Titian. Complete edition, vol. I, The Religious Paintings, London 1969, pp. 164-165, n. 148, under copy n. 3, illustrated pl. 130 (as a workshop copy or contemporary copy);
P. Cherry, in: M. L. Gilbert (ed.), Collections of Paintings in Madrid, 1601-1755, Part 2, Los Angeles 1997, mentioned p. 32;
N. Penny, National Gallery Catalogues. The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings. Volume II. Venice 1540-1600, London 2008, p. 265 (as workshop replica or contemporary copy);
D. García Cueto, Diplomacia Española e Historia Artística Italiana: la Embajada en Roma de don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar y Mendoza, VII Duque del Infantado (1649–1651), y su Colección de Pinturas, in: G. C. Argan (ed), Storia dell’Arte, vol. 27, Rome 2010, p. 104, fig. 12, p. 106, p. 135, no. 4, p. 150, note 147 (as workshop replica or contemporary copy);
A. Donati, Tiziano. Indagini sulla Pittura, Rome 2016, pp. 89-91, fig. 13 (as a workshop copy or later copy)

In 1677 paintings described as original works by Titian are recorded as being around the altar of Don Melchor Maldonado in the church of San Hermenegildo near the Gate of Cordoba (see literature). One of the paintings was later described in more detail in 1780 as “el Sr. mostrando a los judios la moneda o tributo que debia pagarse al César” (see literature).

Don Melchor Meldonado was treasurer of the Casa de Contratación, which regulated Spain’s trade with its American colonies, and he was a collector of art (see P. Cherry in M. L. Gilbert (ed.), Collections of Paintings in Madrid, 1601-1755, Part 2, Los Angeles 1997, p. 32). In an inventory of the capital of Maldonado at the time of his marriage to Clara María de Avila, dated in Seville, 16 May 1608, 54 paintings are mentioned. Six paintings are listed as Titian originals: Entombment of Christ, Tribute Money, Ecce Homo, Saint Margaret, Saint Casilda and a Portrait of Rosa Soliman (see P. Cherry, ibid., 1997, p. 32, note no. 223).

The present painting was sold by Don Manuel de Sousa, a representative of the church of Saint Hermenegildo, in 1874 (see documentation) and purchased by the 17th Duke of the Infantado around 1926.

The present painting relates to Titian´s The Tribute Money in the National Gallery, London (112.2 x 103.2 cm, inv. no. NG224), painted by Titian for Philip II of Spain and completed in 1568. Six years later, the king donated it to the Monastery of the Escorial, where it remained for over two centuries, until it was removed by Joseph Bonaparte in the early 19th century. It entered a Parisian collection and was later purchased by the London museum.

The composition depicts Christ who, interrogated by the Pharisees regarding paying tribute to Caesar, the Governor of Palestine, replied “render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and render unto God what belongs to God”. In the foreground, on the left, one of the Pharisees is showing a coin to Christ, who raises a hand towards the sky while replying. In the background, there is the profile of another Pharisee while, on the right, there is a wall with Titian’s signature (in the London version).

This subject was unusual in the sixteenth century and it is unknown if it was chosen by Philip II or by the artist himself who, in 1516, had painted a panel with the same subject for Alfonso d’Este (Gemäldegalerie, Dresden). Martino Rota made an engraving of Titian’s painting, which he saw in Venice before it was shipped to Spain (see Titian’s painting technique from 1540, in: National Gallery Technical Bulletin, vol. 36, 2015, p. 88).

A technical analysis of the present painting is available on request.