Tribute to Caesar

As recorded by biographer Giulio Mancini in 1617-21, Cosimo II acquired many paintings by Bartolomeo Manfredi who was one of the painters responsible for popularizing the genre scenes inspired by Caravaggio. Thanks to Cosimo II and his brother, Cardinal Carlo, the owner of this painting and the Christ Among the Doctors, the greatest number of works by this artist are found in Florentine collections. There were six before two were destroyed by the bombing in 1993. In this extreme phase of his work, the black background swallows up the minute figures with their large, dark eyes. Attributed to Caravaggio until 1924, The Tribute to Caesar was exhibited in the Tribune of the Uffizi from 1753.