De zeven werken van barmhartigheid. 2: Het laven van de dorstigen.

The Master of Alkmaar painted this panel of Giving Drink to the Thirsty as part of the Seven Works of Mercy cycle in 1504. These panels, his masterwork, illustrate the corporal works of mercy from Matthew 25 in contemporary Dutch settings. They provide invaluable documentation of daily life in early 16th-century Holland. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique. The Northern Renaissance tradition that shaped this work prized meticulous surface observation, emotional directness, and the symbolic integration of everyday objects into sacred narratives.

Oil on panel with vivid narrative staging in a recognizable Dutch urban setting. The charitable act is depicted with the descriptive clarity and accessible naturalism characteristic of the Master's didactic approach.