
Charity
c. 1590
- Medium
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 68.6 × 54.5 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-109872
Abraham Bloemaert drew on traditional depictions of the Virgin and Child for this allegorical image of Charity: a woman surrounded by children, one an infant for whom she has bared her breast. Bloemaert was one of the leading proponents of the Mannerist style in the Northern Netherlands. Characteristics of that style include exaggerated figural proportions, contorted poses, heightened colors, densely packed compositions, and a deliberate eroticism—invoked here to emphasize the magnetic quality of Charity’s serene beauty.
Provenance
Wade Fund, 1994.10
Registry history
- c. 1590 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Registered on Collect24
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