Charity
Guido Reni (Italian, Bolognese, 1575–1642)
Oil on canvas

54 x 41 3/4 in. (137.2 x 106 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 1974 (1974.348)

This exceptionally beautiful picture exemplifies the refinement of Reni's much admired style. The variously colored complexions of the three infants was intentional. The picture comes from the Liechtenstein collection, Vienna, where it is recorded in 1767. It may have been bought or commissioned in Italy by Prince Karl Eusebius von Liechtenstein (1611–1684), who traveled in Italy in 1629–30. While not exactly datable, it has much in common with works by Reni executed about 1630.

Maps

Index Terms

Artist

Reni, Guido (Italian, 1575–1642)

Material and Technique

Painting, Oil on Canvas, Europe, Italian Peninsula

Subject Matter/Theme

Artist Biography

Reni, Guido (Italian, 1575–1642)

Technical Glossary

Citation

"Guido Reni: Charity (1974.348)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/domn/ho_1974.348.htm (September 2008)

Related information by department

See all available object records from European Paintings on the Collection Database.

This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.

Christiansen, Keith. "Going for Baroque: Bringing 17th-Century Masters to the Met." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 62, no. 3 (Winter, 2005).

JSTOR

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