Artist Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (Italian, August 30, 1727–March 3, 1804)
Title Judas Attempts to Return the Tribute Money
Series A New Testament
Date 1786–1790
Medium Brown ink and wash over black chalk on paper
Dimensions Image: 18 3/16 × 14 in. (46.2 × 35.6 cm)
Sheet: 18 7/8 × 14 3/16 in. (47.9 × 36 cm)
Framed: 29 × 23 5/8 × 1 1/2 in. (73.7 × 60 × 3.8 cm)
Credit Line The Anthony Moravec Collection of Old Master Drawings, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 2010.117
About this Work
The son of the famous Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Domenico was also a noted draftsman. His graphic style, more earthbound and rooted in observation than his father’s, bears his distinctive trembling line quality. Domenico worked in serial narratives, including his New Testament cycle, numbering at least 320 sheets. This image is one of twelve drawings from this important series in Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art’s collection (Eskenazi Museum of Art 2010.111-.122). By combining narrative elements from a variety of literary sources with details of daily life, Domenico brought new life to these biblical stories.
Having made a pact to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, Judas later repented and attempted to return the money, a story with limited visual history. Here Judas throws the money down before the high priests seated on a dais, while the solider, who had been Judas’s friend in a previous drawing, stands behind him. Behind the priests is a mural depicting the Sacrifice of Iphigenia, referencing both Domenico’s father’s composition in the Villa Corner at Merlengo and Jesus’s imminent sacrifice on the cross, which Judas now regrets.
