Charity — from The Seven Virtues

This engraving depicts Charity as a nurturing mother figure, surrounded by three children. She is shown in a forest setting, with one child at her breast, another leaning against her shoulder, and a third holding a small cross, a visual shorthand for religious devotion. The artist employs distinct hatching and cross-hatching to create depth and texture in the drapery and surrounding foliage.

The print is part of a series representing the Seven Virtues, a central thematic pillar in medieval and Renaissance moral philosophy that integrated classical ethical structures with Christian doctrine. The inclusion of the cross held by the child emphasizes the theological dimension of Charity (Caritas) as the greatest of the three theological virtues.