| Literature |
De Dordrechtsche Courant, February 15, 1895, page 2
De Nieuwe Koerier, May 14, 1895
Delftsche Courant, May 26, 1895
Bartholomeus, Vikkie, 'Goovaerts: ongekunsteld kunstenaar', in: Limburgs Dagblad, 23 augustus 2012
Baltussen, Loe M.M., 'Henri Goovaerts. Een schilder die trouw bleef aan zijn kunst en aan Maastricht', in: De Maasgouw, volume 135 (2016), pages 30-31 |
| Remarks |
Henri Goovaerts made this painting for the Maastricht society Momus. It was a gift for H.M. Queen Regent Emma, which was offered to her on May 23, 1895 during her visit to the city of Maastricht. H.M. Queen Regent Emma (1858-1934) was patroness of the Momus department of poor man's clothing, food and fuel oil (reference: Ingrid M.H. Evers, De Momus, Maastricht, 1982 (April), p. 37)
When painting this allegory of Charity Goovaerts was clearly inspired by Botticelli's allegory of Spring, 'La Primavera'. He had seen that painting four years earlier in the Uffizi in Florence and had copied it by order of the National Academy of Visual Arts (Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten).
In the Limburgs Dagblad of August 23, 2012, Vikkie Bartholomeus mentions an anonymous letter that is kept in the Regional Historic Center of Limburg (RHCL), in which one of the neighbours of the Goovaerts studio complains about the prostitutes visiting the studio. Goovaerts denies definitely that his studio is a whorehouse. The ladies were posing and "the pose has never been otherwise but with uncovered feet and arms," he says. One of these ladies would have been a model for the Charitas. |
