Charity

Jan van Delen, c. 1673-78

106.7 x 78.5 x 47 cms, white Carrara marble

Count Lamoral de la Tour et Tassis commissioned this sculpture to decorate his funerary chapel in the Sablon Church in Brussels. It was carved by Jan van Delen (†1703), colleague and son-in-law of Lucas Faydherbe. Removed by French revolutionaries in 1795, the sculpture then disappeared.

It was recently re-discovered in the entrance hall of a building in Paris and put up for auction in London. Its purchase by the King Baudouin Foundation enabled this masterpiece to be returned to Brussels.

Charity will be installed in its original niche in the Chapel of Saint Ursula, a highlight of 17th century European architecture and sculpture, once the chapel restoration has been completed. Meanwhile, Charity can be admired in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, in Brussels.