Michiel Sweerts
Clothing the Naked
ca. 1661
Michael Sweerts's 'Clothing the Naked' (c. 1661), painted in Rome by the Flemish master, illustrates one of the Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy from Christian charity. A burgher hands clothing to a bare-shouldered pauper while children watch in solemn sympathy, the figures held in Sweerts's Caravaggio-derived tenebrist light. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1984, it is one of the finest Sweerts in any American museum.
Exhibition Venue
Image source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art