The author deals with the changes in the iconography of the “works of mercy” against the backdrop of the humanistic reception of rhetorics. Giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, shelter to strangers and clothes to the naked, visiting prisoners and the sick as well as burying the dead - the significance of this cycle of virtues (Last Judgement, Matthew 25, 31-46) for how to handle poverty and wealth developed into an important moral doctrine of the Middle Ages and the Modern Age. Accordingly, the subject of mercy became widespread in art.

This is the first comprehensive monograph to deal with the iconographic motif, based on around 250 images focusing on the 16th and 17th centuries in the Netherlands and Germany and includes examples from Italy and France. The book clarifies the gradual change from the medieval iconography with regard to audience, client and artist. Although economic and religious changes continued to have an influence on the “works of mercy” in the Modern Age, it was principally rhetorics and art theory which developed a persuasive mode of representation: personal reference to the observer and narrative style.

The historical lines of development dealt with in the text section are supplemented by a catalogue with 96 numbers which serves as a summary. The volume is completed by a detailed subject index, an index of names and a section with plates showing the most important representations of the “works of mercy”.