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The Moneylender And His Wife Analysis

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The Moneylender and his Wife (also called The Money-Changer and His Wife) is a Flemish painting created in 1514 but Quentin Massys. It is Oil on Panel and is located at Musée du Louvre, Paris. This piece of artwork is Massys most famous painting and can be interpreted as a genre painting or a religious allegory. Seated behind the table, is the banker and wife in a tightly frame, focusing all the attention of them. The banker seems to be busy weighing pearls, pieces of gold, and some other jewels. Next to him is his wife who appears be to be distracted from reading her book and I think the book is a work of devotion because you can see an illustration of the Virgin and child. There is also a mirror placed on the table allowing the viewers to link with space beyond the frame. Also in the far back right of the painting you can see a young man talking to an elderly. The artist created an very old or old-fashioned look by using opposing colors, red and green. “The second half of the fifteenth century in northern Europe saw an expansion of genre …show more content…

It also symbolizes death and that everyone is going to die and no one has greater power than god himself. I think this painting by Massys imitates Jan Van Eyck’s work because he also used a convex mirror in The Arnfolini Portrait. The mirror in both of the these paintings has a similar concept, which was to allow the viewer to see more than what was just going on in the frame but also outside. This piece of artwork is a witness of the new wealth of the mercantile and banking social class because of trade and commerce. The increase of trade led a new economy and people started trading good for other goods. “Manufacturing, trade, and market manipulation all called for substantial amounts of cash, or credit, and so it was that banking enterprises sprang up” (Mee

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