The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Charity

Charity

c. 1550–1600
alabaster
Overall: 29.9 x 14 x 14 cm (11 3/4 x 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.)
Gift of Baroness R. de Kerchove 1951.541
Location: not on view

Description

When this alabaster group entered the museum's collection, it was thought to depict the Virgin Mary, Christ, and Saint John the Baptist. It has been identified, however, as a personification of Charity, the most elevated of the three Christian theological virtues. The two other theological virtues are Faith and Hope. Within Christian belief, Charity is also known as a supernatural virtue, where the object of human conduct is the ultimate unification with God through love. Alluding to its eminent position, Charity sits enthroned, with powerful hybrid beasts supporting her chair. The diminutive footstool propping up her left foot may refer to the necessity of humility in one's relationship to God. Also, a child raises a vessel filled with fruits to another suggesting that selflessness and love are attributes of charitable actions.
  • Michael Dreicer, 1868-1921 (New York, New York), upon his death, held in trust by the estate.
    Estate of Michael Dreicer, by bequest to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1921.
    Metropolitan Museum of Art, returned to Baroness Rene de Kerchove, by 1933.
    Baroness Rene de Kerchove (Mrs. Maisie Dreicer Whyte), widow of Michael Dreicer (New York, New York)
    , by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1951.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 103 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 103 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 118 archive.org
  • Art: The International Language. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 2-November 4, 1956).
    New York, 1921-1922. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Dreicer Collection, temporarily exhibited in the Room of Recent Acquisitions, later moved to Sculpture (Floor 1, Room 6), 1922-1933.
  • {{cite web|title=Charity|url=false|author=|year=c. 1550–1600|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.541