Loving one’s fellow man is more important than religious belief, that is the message here: a pious man from Samaria – with turban – comforts a man who has just been violently robbed. The biblical story describes how two Jewish priests had walked past the half-dead victim. By depicting one of these (front right) as a Christian monk, the artist was clearly levelling criticism at the Catholic Church of his own time.
1537
Oil on panel
74.7 x 86.0cm
SK-A-3468
Image and text courtesy of Rijksmuseum, 2019
Where you'll find this
Rijksmuseum
Permanent collection