Allegory of Charity Charity

These two canvases originally formed part of a single large painting, which was probably cut up in the 18th century. The pieces were only reunited two and a half centuries later at The Courtauld.

The work represents one of Jacques Blanchard’s favourite themes: the allegory of Charity as a young woman caring for children. Blanchard was one of the outstanding artists in 17th-century France. Painted a year before his early death,
the work reflects two main sources of inspiration — the delicate colours of Venetian painting (which Blanchard studied during a trip to Italy) and Rubens’s sensuous figures (which he saw in Paris when Rubens worked there).