Schoolboys Giving Charity to a Blind Man
Bigg was a Royal Academician who often depicted charity performed by children. This mezzotint reproduces a work he exhibited in 1780 and shows boys responding to a blind man. The latter’s red coat identifies him as a former soldier, perhaps a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. Little state support was available to needy Britons at this date and the children’s empathy highlights that problem. After reading the blind man’s sign, the boys share what they can—one reaches into a basket, another his pocket. This genre image recalls the plight of the sixth-century Roman general Belisarius, who after being blinded at the order of Emperor Justinian I, was reduced to begging for alms.
A proof of the print was shown at the Society of Artists in 1782.
A proof of the print was shown at the Society of Artists in 1782.
Artwork Details
- Title: Schoolboys Giving Charity to a Blind Man
- Artist and engraver: John Raphael Smith (British, baptized Derby 1751–1812 Doncaster)
- Artist: After William Redmore Bigg (British, Felsted, Essex 1755–1828 London)
- Publisher: James Birchall (British, active 1781–94)
- Date: 1781
- Medium: Hand-colored mezzotint; second state
- Dimensions: Sheet (clipped close to plate): 18 in. × 21 15/16 in. (45.7 × 55.7 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Ephraim Levy, 1912
- Object Number: 12.86.4
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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