Part 5 (2/2)

One plan that they devised was very cunning. Palestine was at that time a province of the Roman empire, and the popular party among the Jews chafed at having to pay tribute to the emperor Caesar. On the other hand the presence of the Roman governor in Jerusalem made it dangerous to express any open rebellion. Jesus was the friend of the people, and many of his followers believed that he would eventually lead them to throw off the Roman yoke. As a matter of fact, however, he had taken no part in political discussions.

His enemies now determined to make him commit himself to one party or the other. If he declared himself for Rome, his popularity was lost; if against Rome he was liable to arrest. The evangelists relate how shrewdly their question was framed to force a compromising reply, and how completely he silenced them with his twofold answer. This is the story:--

”Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of G.o.d in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

”But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render, therefore, unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto G.o.d the things that are G.o.d's. When they had heard these words, they marvelled and left him, and went their way.”[13]

That was indeed a wonderful scene, and it is made quite real to us in our picture: Christ and the Pharisee stand face to face, engaged in conversation. A wily old fellow has been chosen spokesman for his party.

His bronzed skin and hairy muscular arm show him to be of a common cla.s.s of laborers. The face is seamed with toil, and he has the hooked, aquiline nose of his race. As he peers into the face of his supposed dupe, his expression is full of low cunning and hypocrisy. He holds between thumb and forefinger the Roman coin which Christ has called for, and looks up as if wondering what that has to do with the question.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Picture from Carbon Print by Braun, Clement & Co.

John Andrew & Son. Sc.

CHRIST OF THE TRIBUTE MONEY

_Dresden Gallery_]

Christ turns upon him a searching glance which seems to read his motives as an open page. There is no indignation in the expression, only sorrowful rebuke. His answer is ready, and he points quietly to the coin with the words which so astonish his listeners.

The character of Christ is so many-sided that any painter who tries to represent him has the difficult task of uniting in a single face all n.o.ble qualities of manhood. Let us notice what elements of character t.i.tian has made most prominent, and we shall see how much more nearly he satisfies our ideal than other painters.

Refinement and intellectual power impress us first in this countenance: the n.o.ble forehead is that of a thinker. The eyes show penetration and insight: we feel how impossible it would be to deceive this man. It is a gentle face, too, but without weakness. Here is one who would sympathize with the sorrowing and have compa.s.sion on the erring, but who would not forget to be just. Strength of character and firmness of purpose are indicated in his expression. The highest quality in the face is its moral earnestness. Its calm purity contrasts with the coa.r.s.e, evil face of the questioner as light s.h.i.+ning in the darkness. There is, perhaps, only one other head of Christ in art with which it can properly be compared, and this is by Leonardo da Vinci, in the Last Supper at Milan. The two painters have expressed, as no others have been able to, a spiritual majesty worthy of the subject.

The early painters used to surround the head of Christ with a circle of gold, which was called a nimbus, a halo, or a glory. The custom had been given up by t.i.tian's time, but we see in our picture the remnant of the old symbol in the three tiny points of light which s.h.i.+ne over the top and sides of the Saviour's hair. They are a mystic emblem of the Trinity.

The artistic qualities of the picture are above praise. There are few, if any, of t.i.tian's works executed with so much care and delicacy of finish, but without sacrificing anything in the breadth. We recognize the painter's characteristic touch in the disposition of the draperies, in the delicacy of the hair, the modelling of the hands, and the pose of Christ's head. The figures have that quality of vitality which we observe in t.i.tian's great portraits. The color of Christ's robe is red, and his mantle a deep blue.

IX

THE BELLA

Among t.i.tian's wealthy patrons was a certain Duke of Urbino, Francesco Maria della Rovere, who, as the general-in-chief of the Venetian forces, came to Venice to live when our artist was at the height of his fame.

From this time till the Duke's death the painter was brought into relations with this n.o.ble family. This was the period when the Bella was painted, and the picture has, as we shall see, an intimate connection with these patrons.

The Duke's wife was Eleanora Gonzaga, sister of the Duke of Mantua, celebrated for her beauty and refinement. A contemporary (Balda.s.sare Castiglione) writing of the lady, says: ”If ever there were united wisdom, grace, beauty, genius, courtesy, gentleness, and refined manners, it was in her person, where these combined qualities form a chain adorning her every movement.”

The Duke himself was deeply in love with his wife. A week after his marriage he wrote that ”he had never met a more comely, merry, or sweet girl, who to a most amiable disposition added a surprisingly precocious judgment, which gained for her general admiration.” Eleanora, on her part A showed an undeviating affection for her husband, and they lived together happily.

From the date of her marriage, we can reckon that the d.u.c.h.ess must have been well into her thirties when she came to Venice to live. From a portrait t.i.tian painted of her, when she was about forty, we see that much of the fresh beauty of her girlhood had faded. She had, however, good features, with large, fine eyes and arching brows. Her figure was graceful and her neck beautiful: the head was particularly well set.

All these qualities kindled the artistic imagination of t.i.tian. In the matron of forty his inner eye caught a vision of the belle of twenty.

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