The absolute joy of seeing in-person for the very first time one of my favourite paintings: “The Money Changer and his Wife”, painted in 1514 by Quentin METSYS (on display at the #Louvre in Paris). As an economic historian and feminist, this is a painting filled with so much meaning. To begin with, it depicts a married couple occupying equal space on the canvas, which, given that women are not always equally represented in art (whether or not they are can, of course, reveal a lot about a particular society), always puts an instant smile on my face. It was painted during the Flemish Renaissance which, economically speaking, marked the start of an era in which the European axis of economic power shifted away from the Mediterranean towards the Atlantic coastline, something which placed Netherlands and Belgium at the heart of Europe’s economic growth. Of related significance is that while the central economic role is assigned to the husband (as the Money Changer), the wife’s influence is not entirely disregarded. Given how much wives have contributed to family businesses throughout history, this is important. Note, though, that the wife is depicted with her hand on a religious text while (apparently) being “distracted” by the counting of money. It is a sign not only of how women were assigned “pious” roles but also of the (supposed) conflict between money and morality. Taken together, this is a painting that offers so many talking points, all of which are highly relevant to my work as an economic historian. While it might not be as famous as the Mona Lisa (on display at the same gallery) at least there are no crowds to block your view. #econhist #economica