01 Work, Interpretation of the bible, Frans Francken the Younger's The Seven Acts of Mercy, with Footnotes #212

Frans Francken the Younger  (1581–1642)

The Seven Acts of Mercy, c. between 1613 and 1617

Oil on canvas

height: 69 cm (27.1 in); width: 110 cm (43.3 in)

Hermitage Museum

In St Matthew's Gospel (25:35-36) Christ addresses the righteous and speaks of six acts of charity: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and visiting those in prison. The seventh - burying the dead - is not mentioned there, but depictions of that particular act of charity were very common in the later Middle Ages, when plague raged in Europe. In his numerous works on this theme Frans Francken each time came up with a new variation of its component episodes. Thus, in the foreground of the Hermitage painting we find a scene of the "distribution of loaves", illustrating the first of the acts of charity. In the left-hand part of the composition a rich man is shown sharing his clothing with paupers on one covered terrace and relatives visiting a sick person on another. The artist found peculiar architectural niches for almost all the acts of charity: for example, in the scene of "visiting a prisoner" (on the right in the middle ground), the figure of the convict can be seen in the window of a prison tower. Beneath an architectural awning, in the depths on the left, we find a hospitable owner inviting pilgrims to his house. The only exceptions are the two scenes of "quenching thirst" (on the right in the middle ground) and "burying the dead" (in the depths of the painting). They are set in a more open space against the background of a cathedral and seem enclosed within frames of architectural forms. More on this painting

Frans Francken the Younger (Antwerp, 1581 – Antwerp, 6 May 1642) was a Flemish painter and the best-known member of the large Francken family of artists. He played an important role in the development of Flemish art in the first half of the 17th century through his innovations in genre painting and introduction of new subject matter.

Francken was born in Antwerp where he trained with his father Frans Francken the Elder. He may also have trained with his uncle Hieronymus Francken I in Paris, together with his brother Hieronymus Francken II. He became a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1605 and was deacon of the Guild in 1616.

Francken was a very successful artist and operated a large workshop which made many copies of his original compositions. More on Frans Francken the Younger

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