Charity (from the Tarocchi, series B: Cosmic Principles & Virtues, #38) (before 1467): Art, History and Details

Charity (from the Tarocchi, series B: Cosmic Principles & Virtues, #38) (before 1467) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Master of the E-Series Tarocchi (Italian, active 1460s).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This engraving is part of the group marked with the letter “B,” and named Cosmic Principles and the Virtues, which comprises the three Universal principles (Light, Time, and Space) alongside the four cardinal virtues (Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, and Justice) and the three theological ones (Faith, Hope, and Charity). The latter are a Christian concept originating from a passage in the first Book of Corinthians (1 Corinthians 13:13). Here personified as a full-length female figure, Charita (Charity) simultaneously personifies the love of God (caritas Dei or amor Dei)—by parting her cloak with her left hand in order to reveal her flaming heart—and the love of one’s neighbor (caritas proximi)—by shaking coins from an open purse with her right hand. Charity looks downcast at her lower left and toward her symbol, a pelican. This bird was thought to open its breast with its beak to feed its young with its own blood.

Object facts

• Title: Charity (from the Tarocchi, series B: Cosmic Principles & Virtues, #38)
• Date: before 1467
• Creator attribution: Master of the E-Series Tarocchi (Italian, active 1460s)
• Culture: Italy, Ferrara, 15th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1924.432.38

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.