Attributed to Maerten de Vos

Attributed to MAERTEN DE VOS (Antwerp, 1532-1603).
"Roman Charity".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It presents restorations on the pictorial surface.
The stretcher frame shows damages caused by xylophages.
Measurements: 175 x 218 cm; 190 x 232 cm (frame).
The theme of the Roman Caritas is based on a tale of Antiquity narrated by the Roman historian Valerius Maximus (1st century BC - 1st century AD) in his "Memorable Facts and Sayings" and starring Pero, a woman who secretly breastfeeds her father, Cimon, already old and imprisoned, sentenced to death by starvation. When they are discovered, the great act of charity so impresses the judges that they decide to release the prisoner. It is therefore an "exemplum" on "pietas" (filial piety), a tale of moralizing function, often introduced in the Middle Ages in the structure of the vulgar sermon. In ancient Rome, the theme was represented in a painting in the temple of Pietas. In fact, among the Romans it was a very popular theme, since it was related to the myth of Etruscan origin according to which Juno suckled Hercules. Pliny the Elder (23-79) related a similar story, about a woman suckled by her daughter while in prison.
Aesthetically the work is close to the painting of Maerten De Vos was a Flemish painter and draughtsman of late Mannerism. He was the son of the painter Pieter de Vos, from whom he must have received his first lessons in this art. It is believed that in 1552 he traveled to Italy with Pieter Brueghel the Elder, passing through Florence, Rome, and Venice where he was a pupil of Tintoretto, adopting the mannerist style then in vogue. In 1556 he was back in Antwerp, entering in 1558 as a master in the painters' guild of the city. In 1560 he married Joanna Le Boucq with whom he had eight children, one of them also a painter, Marten de Vos the Younger (1576-1613). Among his most outstanding works are the altarpieces he painted for various associations in his native city: The Triumph of Christ (1590), The Temptations of St. Anthony (1594), St. Luke Painting the Virgin (1602) and The Wedding at Cana (1597). Among his portraits, The Anselmo Family stands out and among his mythological paintings, Apollo and the Muses, where he mixes realism and mannerism, recalling Pieter Aertsen and Tintoretto. As a draughtsman, he was especially active during the years 1580-1585, a period during which the Calvinists held power in Antwerp. He produced a total of more than 1600 drawings that served as models for the most important Dutch engravers of the time. Several of his most unique works are preserved in Spain, such as The Last Judgment (Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla), The Abduction of Europa (Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao) and a Descent from the Cross (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid). The Museo Lázaro Galdiano has two triptych wings (portraits of Martín Rodríguez de Arbieto and his wife Catalina as donors) attributed to this artist.