Charity — from Three Cardinal Virtues

This engraving features a central female figure representing Charity, shown in a tender domestic scene surrounded by three children. Two winged putti hover in the clouds above her, crowning her with a wreath of olive branches, while the composition is framed by stylized clouds and natural elements. The work highlights the Mannerist emphasis on elongated proportions and fluid, rhythmic drapery.

The personification of Charity (Caritas) is a central trope in Neoplatonic discussions of the soul's ascent and the hierarchy of love, linking the Christian theological virtue to the philosophical concept of divine grace or 'Amor'.