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Original fileLiefdadigheid van de Heilige Elisabet van Hongarije
About This Work
The central figure, a haloed queen, humbles herself by washing a beggar's foot in a shallow basin. In the background, she is seen again serving food to patients in a vaulted hospital ward. Two female attendants stand to the right, one holding a large jar of water or medicine, highlighting the theme of active compassion and physical healing.
As a work by Aegidius Sadeler, the court engraver to Rudolf II in Prague, this print reflects the 'Rudolfine' interest in the intersection of spiritual virtue and the active care of the body. The emphasis on healing the sick 'gratis' and the humility of the crown resonates with the charitable ideals later codified in the Rosicrucian manifestos appearing during this same period.
Inscriptions(Latin)
S. ELISABETHA VIDVA REGINA . Vt caput impediant celso diademate reges, Tela per et flammas, arma, virosq. ruunt, Regia pro, quantum manus haec ex regibus extat, Abijcit ad nudos quae sua regna pedes! Et pedibus claudis festinat ad altera regna, Non rapienda armis, non capienda viris. Quis maior, qui quaerit opes, an calcat? hic illis. Imperitat, seruis seruit at ille suis. 54
Translation
ST. ELIZABETH, QUEEN AND WIDOW. Though kings burden their heads with lofty diadems, And rush through spears, flames, arms, and men, How much greater than those kings is this hand, Which casts its kingdoms at naked feet! And on limping feet, she hastens to other kingdoms, Not to be seized by arms, not to be taken by men. Which is greater: the one who seeks wealth, or the one who tramples it? The latter Rules over those; but the former serves his own slaves. 54
Connected Texts
Fama Fraternitatis
The print exemplifies the virtue of 'Caritas' and the duty to heal the sick for free, a core tenet of the Rosicrucian brotherhood appearing around the time of the print's publication.
Collections
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
width 156 mm x height 220 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.