Fish Market

This still life is intended to illustrate the diversity of the “treasures of the sea”. Equal emphasis is given to the group of figures painted by van Dyck whose timeless apparel suggests the scene has religious significance. The figure to the left may be Peter, who at Jesus’ bidding went down to the sea and caught a fish, in the mouth of which he found a piece of gold which he then gave as tribute-money to the toll collectors at Capernaum.