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Charity

A work made of oil on canvas.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1743/44

Artist:

Francesco de Mura
Italian, 1696-1782

About this artwork

This painting presents an allegory of the virtue of charity through images of maternal love and sacrifice: a mother nurtures several young children and a pelican feeds her young by drawing blood from her own breast. This work was one of a set of allegories of five virtues intended as decorations set above doors in a palace belonging to the king of Savoy, a region in northwest Italy. Francesco de Mura spent most of his career in Naples but also worked for the king of Savoy in the 1740s, producing paintings in a style that combined grand, calm figures with active drapery. Although it is now rectangular, the canvas shows signs of an earlier curved shape appropriate to a Rococo room decoration.

Status

On View, Gallery 215

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Francesco de Mura

Title

Charity

Place

Italy (Artist's nationality)

Date

1743–1744

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

139.5 × 134.6 cm (54 15/16 × 53 in.)

Credit Line

Preston O. Morton Memorial Fund for Older Paintings

Reference Number

1971.429

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/36492/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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