Charity, from the Virtues 1552

Heinrich Aldegrever made this engraving, “Charity, from the Virtues,” sometime in the first half of the 16th century. Look closely, and you’ll see an allegorical figure of Charity, rendered with fine lines, standing in an elaborate landscape. In 16th-century Germany, the concept of virtue was tied to religious and social reform. Aldegrever was part of the Protestant Reformation, which challenged the Catholic Church’s authority. The print reflects this context, suggesting that true charity comes from individual conviction, not institutional decree. By visually associating the figure of Charity with civic heraldry, Aldegrever infuses her with a sense of local, rather than Papal, authority. This small print embodies some of the big social and political changes underway in Northern Europe at the time. To better understand this work, we might consider period texts, religious pamphlets, and the artist’s biography. What we learn from these sources emphasizes how meaning emerges from social and institutional contexts.