A Ferry Departs as St Peter Finds a Coin in the Mouth of a Fish, by Jacques Jordaens, c. 1621 - c. 1650
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A Ferry Departs as St Peter Finds a Coin in the Mouth of a Fish

Also titled Petrus vindt een munt in de bek van een vis

Jacques Jordaens (Antwerp, 1593–1678)

c. 1621 - c. 1650

Medium
canvas, oil paint (paint)
Classification
painting
Dimensions
outer size: depth 8.5 cm (support incl. frame)
Museum
Rijksmuseum
Credit line
On loan from the City of Amsterdam
Rights
Public Domain Mark, as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed

View at the Rijksmuseum

About this work

Jacob Jordaens (1593 - 1678). The miracle of the obol in the mouth of the fish, c. 1640/1650. On Jesus' instructions, Peter caught a fish which had in its mouth a silver coin, an obol. With this they were able to pay the tribute required of them. Jordaens portrayed the event beside a crowded ferry. Peter is seated on the quayside, bent over with a fish in one hand and the coin in the other. Originally the painting was smaller: strips were subsequently added on the right and at the top. The surface is extremely dirty, which hides the seams linking the different sections of canvas. Probably from the Nieuwe Zijds Huiszittenhuis (Institute for Relief for the Poor), Amsterdam Loan from the City of Amsterdam, 1885.