Three Regentesses and the ‘House Mother’ of the Amsterdam Lepers’ Asylum, Werner van den Valckert, 1624
oil on panel, h 132cm × w 189.5cm Catalogue entry
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.
