Saintly Prelate Distributing Alms 1505 - 1562

Christoph Amberger's "Saintly Prelate Distributing Alms" (1505-1562) is a pen drawing depicting a prelate in full clerical garb. The scene is set within an architectural framework, suggesting a church or grand building. The prelate extends his hand to a kneeling figure in the foreground, who holds out a bowl. The composition's emphasis on the act of charity, rendered in meticulous detail, underscores the prelate's piety and dedication to the less fortunate. The drawing's circular format, common in devotional works, further reinforces the theme of spiritual contemplation. The work's presence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York underscores its historical and artistic significance.