Three Regentesses and the ‘House Mother’ of the Amsterdam Lepers’ Asylum, Werner van den Valckert, 1624
The regentesses were responsible for overseeing the domestic affairs of the Lepers’ Asylum. The woman at right is writing on a slate. At the base of the stairs in the background is the poor figure of Lazarus, begging for crumbs from the table of the selfish rich man. This biblical scene is rendered – in natural colours – as though it were part of the portrait.