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Replies: 44 / Views: 4,381 |
Moderator

United States
24271 Posts |
As it turns out, I seem to spend a bit of time in museums, and while I have sporadically described numismatically-relevant paintings previously in the museum thread http://goccf.com/t/301900), I'm now thinking that this topic deserves a separate evergreen thread within CCF. I would like to acknowledge that in 2015, @davec14 started up a similar "Coins in Art" thread http://goccf.com/t/245866) here on CCF. I'm happy to reanimate that thread rather than starting a version 2 if the mods prefer. For those who are interested in this subject, I see that several other forums have similar threads, including forums.collectors.com and World of Coins. I also note that we have an excellent thread detailing the use of coins in movies http://goccf.com/t/84257). My vision for this thread is to include photos of paintings or other visual art that include coins or banknotes. To avoid overwhelming this thread with military paintings, medals and other exonumia will be excluded. I plan to include as much information about the painting's location, date, creator, media as is posted, along with overall and close-up pics of the coins. When possible, I'll speculate on what coins might be pictured. Lastly, just to be clear, I'm hoping that others will join in and add their own posts to this thread. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
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Moderator

United States
24271 Posts |
"The Finding of Joseph's Cup in Benjamin's Sack" was painted by Nicholas de Poilly in 1698 and currently resides in Dublin at the National Gallery of Ireland. Painted in the Classicist style, it shows the scene in the Old Testament where Joseph has hidden his silver cup in the grain sack of his youngest brother. Mixed in with the cup and grains, you can see several coins. From Genesis 44: Quote: Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain.  
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
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Moderator

United States
24271 Posts |
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5187 Posts |
Super cool, I view coins as art, now I can view art with coins...thanks.. 
I'm by no means a pro and will never claim to be...just my 2 cents A smile costs nothing to give or receive....GF If it's not hockey, it's not a sport
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Moderator

United States
114935 Posts |
Very interesting! 
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Moderator

United States
24271 Posts |
Thx guys! I suspect that the subject of Jesus chasing away money changers from the temple will be a common image on this thread. Here is Rembrandt van Rijn's take on this event. This etching hangs at the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade and dates to 1635. Amid the chaos and outrage, you can see one of the moneychangers protectively clutching a sack of coins as the table starts to keel over.  
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
4532 Posts |
@Spence, that painting is interesting as it shows that artists are not numismatists. The event illustrated took place 100s of years before the first coins!
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Moderator

United States
24271 Posts |
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
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Moderator

United States
24271 Posts |
Quote: The event illustrated took place 100s of years before the first coins! @oriole, hmm I'm confused. Wouldn't this event have occurred sometime around AD 25-30?
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
4532 Posts |
Quote: @oriole, hmm I'm confused. Wouldn't this event have occurred sometime around AD 25-30? @Spence, the money changers, yes, about 30 AD. "finding of Benjamin's cup" would date prior to the Exodus, before 1500 BC according to one chronology. So coins are very much anachronistic in that painting.
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Pillar of the Community

United States
5477 Posts |
Helpful clarification.
Indeed, historical accuracy is sometimes not a priority (also being a more modern invention?). In looking for paintings of historical figures who appear on coins (monarchs), I often find later paintings of the person in which details on the clothing are wrong. This is also true of die engravers, for instance, that image of Balboa on Panama coins.
Great idea for a thread ... I recall on another similar thread, we were in some cases even able to identify the specific coins in the painting.
Edited by tdziemia 09/18/2019 07:48 am
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Moderator

United States
114935 Posts |
Excellent examples! 
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Moderator

United States
24271 Posts |
thx @jbuck! And yes now I understand @oriole. Something about the timeline isn't quite right for there to be such nice coins for an event happening that long ago. @tdz, I think that there are some that I'll be adding where such a thing is possible.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
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Moderator

United States
24271 Posts |
Here is Kenji Nakahashi's 1984 chromogenic print, "The White House". It is located at the MFA in Houston TX. 
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20719 Posts |
I was just checking those old paintings to see if there are any Mercury dimes there. 
just carl
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Moderator

United States
114935 Posts |
Quote: Here is Kenji Nakahashi's 1984 chromogenic print, "The White House". It is located at the MFA in Houston TX. Very nice! 
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Replies: 44 / Views: 4,381 |
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