Study from Nature, One of the Children of Charity for the Large Picture of the Waterloo Allegory 

James Ward made this drawing, “Study from Nature, One of the Children of Charity for the Large Picture of the Waterloo Allegory," as a preparatory sketch for a larger painting commemorating the Battle of Waterloo. Ward was part of a generation of artists who grappled with the visual representation of war and its aftermath. This study focuses on one of the children symbolizing charity, a figure intended to evoke compassion. The child's gaze is directed upwards, perhaps toward the allegorical scene of victory and peace Ward envisioned. Yet, the tenderness with which Ward depicts this child also draws attention to the vulnerable populations affected by war. Ward’s choice to include children of charity highlights the social costs of war and empire. These children, often orphaned or impoverished, remind us of the human cost of conflict, suggesting an alternative narrative of vulnerability and dependence, complicating the triumphant rhetoric often associated with war.