Medieval · National Gallery of Art · 46012

Charity

Giovanni di Balduccio, c. 1330

Shown from the thighs up, a woman and two children are carved in high and low relief on this white marble, vertically oriented rectangular panel. The woman’s body faces us, but she cranes her neck sharply to look up and to our left. She has rounded features and wears a veil that drapes over her head and long robe. She holds up a scroll carved with the word “CHARITAS” in her right hand, to our left, and wraps her other hand around the shoulders of two small children in the lower right. The children face her and tip their heads back, and they appear to drink streams of liquid coming from a flame-shape on her chest. The trio are enclosed in a quatrefoil shape, which has lobes at each corner separated by points along each edge. Stepped molding frames the quatrefoil.

National Gallery of Art · National Gallery of Art, Washington · Samuel H. Kress Collection · CC0 · Public domain

Artist: Giovanni di Balduccio
Date: c. 1330
Medium: marble
Dimensions: 45.1 x 35.3 cm (17 3/4 x 13 7/8 in.)
Era: Medieval

Why it matters

Charity, dated c. 1330, is catalogued by National Gallery of Art as a work in marble. The museum attributes the work to Giovanni di Balduccio. The recorded dimensions are 45.1 x 35.3 cm (17 3/4 x 13 7/8 in.). This factual page is generated from the museum catalogue and links directly to its source record.

National Gallery of Art collection record