| The Money Lender and His Wife | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Quentin Matsys |
| Year | 1514 |
| Medium | Oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 70.5 cm× 67 cm(27.8 in× 26 in) |
| Location | Louvre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi |
The Money Changer and His Wife is a 1514 oil-on-panel painting by the Flemish Renaissance artist Quentin Matsys, currently in the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
A man, who is weighing the jewels and pieces of gold on the table in front of him sits next to his wife who is reading a book of devotion with an illustration of the Virgin and Child. [1] The couple is not dressed as members of nobility, but rather as well-to-do burghers of Antwerp, where the painting was made. At the time, Antwerp had grown with the influx of many southern immigrants fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. Among this international community there was a demand for money-changers and money-lenders, as international commerce was increasing in the port city.
The same motif was used 25 years later by Matsys' follower, the painter Marinus van Reymerswaele.
This painting was copied in a painting of the gallery of Cornelis van der Geest by Willem van Haecht a century later in the 1620s. Van der Geest was an admirer of Matsys' work and owned several of his paintings, including The Moneylender and His Wife. He also commemorated Matsys' hundredth death anniversary with a new plaque in the Antwerp Cathedral. [2]
Quentin Matsys (1466–1530) was a Flemish painter in the Early Netherlandish tradition. He was born in Leuven. There is a tradition alleging that he was trained as an ironsmith before becoming a painter. Matsys was active in Antwerp for over 20 years, creating numerous works with religious roots and satirical tendencies. He is regarded as the founder of the Antwerp school of painting, which became the leading school of painting in Flanders in the 16th century. He introduced new techniques and motifs as well as moralising subjects without completely breaking with tradition.
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