Virtue and Alms. Charity as a Pauper in Cornelis de Man’s Allegory of the Virtuous Life

Asperen, H. van

doi:10.1163/18750176-90000220

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“…3). 22 De Man's painting includes a personification of Charity in the guise of a pauper. Placed on the receiving end of the chain of almsgiving, this figure of Charity has much in common with van der Schuer's image.…”

Section: Leiden's Plague Hospitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…46 The image was finished in 1682, the same year that van der Schuer signed his canvas. 47 Both canvases feature large personifications of Charity wearing red dresses in prominent positions. De Man, however, left no doubt as to her identity: he inscribed the word charitas on the column base behind her.…”

Section: The Needs Of Mankindmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…48 De Man created a complex image that opposes the virtuous with the undeserving. 49 A woman who is destitute, but rich in virtue, receives a loaf of bread, while another who is also destitute, but less virtuous, is reprimanded. The image connects directly with Coornhert's ideas on crime and poverty, explicated in his Boeventucht.…”

Section: The Needs Of Mankindmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The print might have suggested to van der Schuer the possibility of showing Charity on the receiving rather than the giving end of philanthropy. 38 Part of a series on the virtues of a good housewife, this print shows a woman distributing bread to the poor. Seated on the doorstep is a woman with two children, raising her hand.…”

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Nothing Else Than Decay: Theodoor van der Schuer’s Allegory of Human Deprivation for Leiden’s Plague Hospital

Asperen¹

2020

JHNA

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In 1682, the highly regarded artist Theodoor Cornelisz van der Schuer (1634-1707) painted a canvas for the boardroom of the plague hospital in Leiden. He transformed well-known depictions of the plague to create an image of an unspecified hospital in a timeless setting. More than simply an image of a hospital, the painting is also an allegory of human dependence on God. Focusing on the plague-stricken figure of Charity, the allegory visualizes moral ideas that were disseminated in a 1526 tract on poor relief written by Juan Luis Vives. In the painting, the plague becomes a symbol of human deprivation, and by depicting Charity as a plague victim, van der Schuer projects the idea that humility is an essential part of charity. Since Vives was widely known throughout the seventeenth century, we may assume that his ideas were familiar to the hospital's regents. And although van der Schuer disguises Charity as a plague victim, visitors to the boardroom probably recognized the personification nevertheless. Images of Charity were ubiquitous, especially in the context of hospitals, where they reflected the actions of the regents donating their time and dedicating their skills to the destitute. In reality, the hospital probably did not ever house plague victims; although the disease remained a constant threat, the institution served different kinds of patients. Combining a scene of the plague with a broad-reaching allegory, the painting proved relevant for decades to come.

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Section: Leiden's Plague Hospitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Needs Of Mankindmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Needs Of Mankindmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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