Allegory of Charity
Artist: Jacques Blanchard (French, 1600-1638)
Date: about 1637
Dimensions:
H: 42 1/2 in. (108 cm); W: 54 1/2 in. (138.4 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1975.9
Label Text:In the 17th century, the common way to represent the concept of Charity—the foremost of the Christian virtues Faith, Hope, and Charity—was as a nursing mother with children. Jacques Blanchard painted allegorical representations of Charity several times in the years 1635-37, probably referring to the humanitarian efforts of the French priest (later saint) Vincent de Paul (1580-1660) to shelter Paris orphans.
Blanchard enlivens the subject with a stage-like setting and the charming interaction between the little girl reaching for the toy top and the boy holding it out of her reach. Crumbling architecture symbolized the fall of the pagan world, opening the way to Christianity. The stone relief of Roman soldiers at the right contrasts with the theme of Charity, a principal benefit of peace.
Blanchard enlivens the subject with a stage-like setting and the charming interaction between the little girl reaching for the toy top and the boy holding it out of her reach. Crumbling architecture symbolized the fall of the pagan world, opening the way to Christianity. The stone relief of Roman soldiers at the right contrasts with the theme of Charity, a principal benefit of peace.
Not on view
In Collection(s)