A blind man accompanied by a young girl sits outside a church. Through the doorway can be seen a crucifix lit by a lamp. An old woman comes out, clutching her prayer book and the old man himself is fingering the beads of a rosary. The subject has echoes of Jacques-Louis David's famous painting of Belisarius, the blind general begging for alms. This picture is the artist's second version of a painting of 1852 which is now in the Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp. It was extremely popular in the 19th century, and much copied.
[Oil on mahogany, 50.3 x 46.5 cm]
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