John Raphael Smith
Rural Charity, 1790s
Oil on canvas
Philip Mould & Co.
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com The subject of this painting is not certain. The seated man is too well-dressed to a be an object of...
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com
The subject of this painting is not certain. The seated man is too well-dressed to a be an object of charity, as often seen in the fashionable genre at this date in which elegant patrons dispense kindness to beggars and the rural poor. He is offering the women a rose. Smith was an accomplished engraver and pastel painter, and this painting shows he was also a master of oils.