Created around 1640, Christ and the Money Changers by Aniello Falcone, now housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, is one of the most celebrated depictions of the biblical episode in which Christ drives the merchants out of the temple. The painting highlights the corruption and greed associated with the improper use of money—an enduring theme in sacred art. Falcone addresses this with a striking realism, capturing the tension between the sacred and the profane.
The Biblical Episode: Money and Corruption in the Temple
The Gospel story recounts that when Jesus entered the Temple of Jerusalem, He found money changers and animal vendors conducting business within this sacred space. Outraged by the desecration of the Temple, Christ takes dramatic action: He drives the merchants out with a whip, overturning tables and scattering their coins. “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:12-13), He declares, condemning the commerce and the use of money in a place dedicated to spirituality and worship.
This episode symbolizes the corrupting influence of money, even in a sacred place, and is one of the most significant moments in Christ’s public ministry. Here, human greed is starkly contrasted with the principles of faith and righteousness.
The Depiction of Money in Falcone’s Work
In Falcone’s painting, the central focus is on Christ, shown in the act of expelling the money changers and vendors. The merchants, representing an attachment to material wealth, are depicted hunched over their tables, trying to protect their possessions. They desperately attempt to safeguard the money that represents their profit and power.
In this scene, money is portrayed as a corrupting force, a symbol of a form of religiosity tainted by greed. Christ’s gesture—overturning the tables and scattering the coins—visually declares His rejection of the improper use of money and the greed that has invaded the Temple. The coins falling to the ground symbolize the fragility and emptiness of material wealth, which Christ decisively rejects in favor of reaffirming the value of faith and spirituality.
The Contrast Between Sacred and Profane
Falcone constructs the scene with a striking contrast between Christ’s commanding action and the merchants’ greed. The dove sellers, symbolic of sacrifice and purity, stand in contrast to the money changers, who are bent over, intent on defending their profits. This powerful image underscores humanity’s submission to material wealth.
The architectural background, rendered in a style of severe classicism, emphasizes the sacredness of the Temple—a place meant to be pure and inviolate—but which has been transformed into a marketplace driven by greed. In this context, money becomes a symbol of corruption, which Falcone denounces through Christ’s violent reaction.
Money as a Tool of Spiritual Corruption
In Christ and the Money Changers, Aniello Falcone explores the theme of money as a tool of corruption, threatening the purity of faith and religion. The vivid and dramatic scene underscores how money, when used improperly, can contaminate even the holiest places and the highest ideals. Christ’s intervention is an act of purification, symbolically dispersing the money to restore the Temple’s sanctity.
This painting remains a powerful commentary on the conflict between material and spiritual values—a theme that transcends centuries. Through his striking visual and moral intensity, Falcone immortalizes the dangers of greed and the sacred responsibility to preserve spiritual integrity.