Four Regents and the ‘House Father’ of the Amsterdam Lepers’ Asylum, Werner van den Valckert, 1624
oil on panel, h c.134cm × w 209cm Catalogue entry
The men wearing hats are the regents, or buitenvaders, of the Amsterdam Lepers’ Asylum, which cared for people suffering from leprosy and other ailments. The bare-headed man at left is the binnenvader, or house father, charged with the daily running of the asylum. The relief behind the group illustrates an appropriate biblical scene: dogs licking the sores of Lazarus, a beggar afflicted with leprosy.
