Christ is Born as Man's Redeemer: Detail, Mary and Joseph pay the census tax

South Netherlandish, 1500-1520
In the collection of the Bishop of Burgos, Spain, soon after completion
Wool and silk
The Cloisters, New York City

The label at the Cloisters identifies this as Mary and Joseph paying rent for the stable. However, it seems more likely that they are in Bethlehem responding to the Emperor's call for a universal census, and that the men on the right with book and scroll are the census-takers. The pile of coins on the table is not scriptural but does correspond to the Golden Legend's version: "This Emperor commanded that every man should go into the towns, cities or villages from whence they were of, and should bring with him a penny in acknowledgment that he was subject to the Empire of Rome."

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Photographed at the Cloisters by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.