TINO DI CAMAINO
(b. ca. 1285, Siena, d. ca. 1337, Napoli)

Charity

c. 1321
Marble, height 136 cm
Museo Bardini, Florence

After the completion of Bishop Antonio degli Orsi's tomb Tino executed a number of closely related sculptures such as the statue of Charity of unknown provenance in the Museo Bardini.

This heroic figure, an earth-mother type, is one of the first portrayals of Charity nursing. Shallowly carved in a plane and with an unfinished back, it was probably meant for a niche. Her casual posture has never been properly ascertained, and it is usually stated that she is sitting.