Charity/ Compassion. From: The Virtues.

Heinrich Aldegrever was one of the so-called 'Little Masters', a group of German artists making small prints in the generation after Albrecht Dürer, who included Hans Baldung Grien, the Beham brothers and Georg Pencz. The close resemblance of his work to that of Dürer led to Aldegrever being called the 'Albert of Westphalia', although his style went on to depart from his mentor's intricate line work to stress the optical effects of light and shadow. He became a Lutheran convert in 1531, but continued to depict religious themes, while his ornamental engravings were used as models by artists and craftsmen well into the 17th century. His images of virtues and vices were so popular that Aldegrever made cycles of both in 1549 (not yet represented in the collection) and, here, 1552. Te Papa owns the complete cycle, all acquired in 1978. These complement several Aldegrever prints in the foundation art collection, presented to the Colonial Museum, forerunner of Te Papa, in 1869 by Bishop Ditlev Monrad.

Charity is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, because it is said to both glorify and reflect the nature of God. Confusion can arise from the multiple meanings of the English word 'love'. The love that is caritas is distinguished by its origin, being divinely infused into the soul, and by its residing in the will rather than emotions, regardless of what emotions it stirs up. According to St Thomas Aquinas, charity is an absolute requirement for happiness, which he holds as man's last goal. The opposite of Charity in Aldgrever's cycle of the Vices is Envy (1978-0006-5/ 2).

Aldegrever's female personification of Charity holds a baby in her left arm and a banner with a flag with a dog on it in her right hand. The latter symbolises fidelity and is often a companion to Charity. At right, the heraldic shield featuring a lion and her cubs is surmounted by a sheep. The lion is the animal kingdom counterpart to Charity, a symbol of caring, as well as the resurrection. The young sheep (probably a little older than a lamb) is a reference to the sacrificial death of Christ. The setting with prominent classical ruins suggests a modish reference to antiquity, but perhaps the artist is also saying these virtues and vices have existed for time immemorial. The inscription translates as: 'Energies are deprived of envy by selfless love [Amoris/Charity], a virtue which is followed by Hope and Faith'.

This engraving is sometimes known as Compassion. Although the symbolism differs, it is closely interchangeable in its meaning with Charity (1978-0006-4/ 2) and Aldegrever used the same inscription for both works.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Aldegrever

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_(virtue)

Dr Mark Stocker, Curator Historical International Art                   December 2016