Charity 

Jacob de Wit created this drawing, "Charity," using pen and brown ink, with brown wash, on paper. It’s an intimate scene, a mother and three children, rendered with great efficiency. The brown ink, applied with a brush, creates a subtle tonal range, and the linear strokes feel spontaneous and energetic. Note how deftly he models the figures with very little hatching. The circular format suggests it may have been a design for a larger work, perhaps a ceiling painting. De Wit was a master of the grisaille technique, where paintings are executed entirely in shades of gray, imitating sculpture. This drawing shows his confident draftsmanship, essential for convincing three-dimensional illusions on flat surfaces. Drawings like this one provide insight into the labor and skill involved in creating large-scale decorative schemes. They remind us that even seemingly effortless artistic gestures are rooted in deep material understanding and technical mastery.