A woman’s charity (Caridad de mujer)

A woman covered from head to toe is shown carrying a plate that she is offering to a group of figures lying on the ground before her, exhausted by hunger and perhaps on the point of death. A short distance behind this group on the right-hand side of the composition an obese priest watches the scene unfolding with indifference - perhaps because he is accustomed to such sights, so typical in times of war.

The scene reflects on the one hand the famine that plagued the population during the Spanish War of Independence, in particular between 1811 and 1812. On the other hand, it reflects the lack of solidarity shown by the most affluent classes - especially within the Church - and the help that was given spontaneously by those who had little to offer.

The figure completely covered by a tunic is reminiscent of the work of Salvator Rosa (Naples, 1615-Rome, 1673), which Goya might have been familiar with from his stay in Italy from 1769 to 1771. Goya also produced panneggio (drapery) exercises featuring fully covered figures in his Italian Sketchbook which might be related to the work Charon passant les ombres (Charon Ferrying Dead Souls Across the Styx) (Louvre Museum, Paris, 1735) by Pierre Subleyras (Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, 1699 - Rome, 1749).