Terms and Conditions
The artist, title and date of the work must be listed anywhere the image is reproduced:
Johan Joseph Zoffany
Roman Charity (c. 1769)
oil on canvas
76.3 × 63.5 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1932
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Where possible, the image must be reproduced in full (no cropping or over-printing). If you wish to use a detail of the work, a full reproduction of the work must also be reproduced elsewhere in the publication.
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Roman Charity
(c. 1769)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
76.3 × 63.5 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1932
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Roman Charity depicts a story told by the Roman historian Valerius Maximus in his Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX (Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings) of around AD 30. The story involves Cimon, an old man awaiting execution in prison, who was given no food. His daughter Pero visited him, and suckled him at her own breast like a child. Pero’s nourishing of Cimon was considered a sterling example of paying honour to one’s parents.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed (diagonally) in black paint l.c.: i. Zoffanÿ / inv:
Accession Number
4614-3
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Dame Carol Colburn-Grigor CBE through Metal Manufactures Limited
Frame
Loosely related to Spanish style frames, the current framing of Roman Charity came with the painting in 1932 and is likely to have been made around the time of acquisition.
The painting was cleaned and restored in 2016.
Frame Details
Framemaker
Unknown - 20th century
Materials
gilded composition ornament on a wooden base.