Act of Mercy: Giving Drink to the Thirsty
Artist
Bernardo Strozzi
(Italian, 1581-1644, active in Genoa and Venice)
Date1620s
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFrame: 61 1/4 × 83 7/8 × 4 3/4 in., 83 lb. (155.5 × 213 × 12 cm, 37.6 kg)
Image: 52 1/4 x 74 5/8 in. (132.7 x 189.5 cm)
Image: 52 1/4 x 74 5/8 in. (132.7 x 189.5 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum purchase, 1950
Object numberSN634
Bernardo Strozzi was primarily a painter of religious works, as he had spent twelve years of his life in a Capuchin monastery. Trained in the northern city of Genoa, he absorbed Italian as well as northern European techniques and traditions. His vibrant colors and heavy brushstrokes, typical of Genovese compositions, are particularly visible in the drapery of the female figure. This work depicts one of the seven acts of mercy described in the Gospel of Matthew, which also include feeding the hungry and burying the dead.
On View
On viewLocation
- Museum of Art, Gallery 11, Wall South
19th century
last quarter of 1600s or first quarter of 1700s