The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy 17th Century they knew that their grand

they knew that their grand commission to buy a collection for the King of Poland had come to nothing

1620 in the Staatliche Gemaldegalerie

The figure - in Dutch

Margaret Morris (Mannings and Postle

daughter of the Earl of Bedford

The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy 17th Century they knew that their grandThis painting seemingly depicts a crowded genre scene in a Dutch village, but there is more to it than meets the eye. The various groups of figures composing the scene symbolically illustrate the seven corporal acts of mercy: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to give shelter to travellers, to visit the sick, to visit the imprisoned, and to bury the dead. This composition is known in several versions.