Charity
Abraham Bloemaert·c. 1590
Historical Context
Abraham Bloemaert painted this Charity around 1590, early in his long career as the leading painter of Utrecht and a pivotal figure in Dutch art. Bloemaert's early works show the influence of the Mannerist style he absorbed during a stay in Paris, with its elongated figures and complex compositions. As a teacher, he trained many of the Utrecht Caravaggists, including Hendrick ter Brugghen and Gerard van Honthorst, making him essential to the development of Dutch Baroque painting.
Technical Analysis
The oil on wood panel demonstrates Bloemaert's early Mannerist style with its sinuous figure types, acidic colors, and dynamic composition. The personification of Charity with nursing children follows iconographic convention while showing the artist's distinctive approach to the human form.
Provenance
Private collection, Caracas, Venezuela; (Sotheby’s, New York, Jan. 17, 1992, no. 18 [as "attributed to Abraham Bloemaert"]; unsold); American private collection?; (Sotheby’s, New York, private treaty sale, June 16, 1993, sold to Jack Kilgore); (Jack Kilgore & Co., Inc., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
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