The Money Changer and His Wife
Painting on panel • Quinten Massys (also spelled Quentin Matsys)
Style & Movement
Northern Renaissance / Flemish School
Medium & Technique
Oil on oak panel; executed with meticulous Northern Renaissance precision, fine glazes, and significant psychological realism.
Creation Period
1514
Dimensions & Format
71 cm x 68 cm (28 in x 27 in); Square-format portrait orientation.
Subject Description
A genre scene depicting a man weighing gold coins while his wife turned away from her devotional book to observe. It serves as an allegory for the tension between material wealth and spiritual devotion, symbolized by the juxtaposed scales and the Bible-like prayer book.
Condition & Value Assessment
Condition Assessment
Excellent; well-preserved original in the Louvre collection with visible fine craquelure consistent with age.
Estimated Market Value
Priceless / Institutional Asset (estimated insurance value exceeding $50,000,000 if it were ever to reach the open market).
Auction Estimate
N/A - Museum Permanent Collection
Provenance History
First recorded in the collection of Peter Stevens in Antwerp (17th century); later acquired by the French state and held in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (Inv. 1444).
Art Historical Significance
A masterpiece of early 16th-century Flemish art that bridges the gap between the religious art of Jan van Eyck and the emerging secular genre painting. It is one of the most famous depictions of the merchant class in art history.
Notable Features
Includes a convex mirror in the foreground reflecting a person and a window; detailed rendering of coins, jewelry, and a prayer book; signature/date 1514 visible on the original frame/work.
Condition Issues
Stable fine-pattern craquelure; minimal historical thinning of glazes due to centuries of cleaning; overall structural integrity of the oak panel remains strong.
Conservation Recommendations
Maintain strictly controlled humidity (50% RH) and temperature to prevent panel warping; low UV lighting; periodic surface inspection for varnish oxidation.