Who could join the Caridad?

Membership to the Caridad (see earlier post) was generally restricted to those in the upper echelons of society.  It took Murillo five years before he was accepted as a member, and even then it was specifically on the condition that he carried out commissions for paintings in the Church of San Jorge Seville.  Although painters were of a low social status, on a par with carpenters, Murillo was Seville's leading artist at that time, which gave him greater social mobility.  His calm, warm style with deep colours was a complete contrast to Leal's dour warnings that greeted entrants to the Hermandad de la Caridad.  His contribution was his paintings of the six Acts of Mercy, each representing a specific charitable act, which the Brothers of the Caridad would be expected to do.

The paintings are as follows:  Abraham and the Three Angels (welcoming strangers), The Liberation of St Peter (ministering to prisoners), Return of the Prodigal Son (clothing the naked), Christ healing the paralytic (visitation of the sick), Moses sweetening the waters of Marah (quenching the thirsty) and The feeding of the Five Thousand (feeding the Hungry).

The background to the Mercy painting relating to quenching the thirsty is as follows:

"When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"

"Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. 
      There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."

This series is an antidote to  Valdes Leal's to hieroglyphs about death and judgement which would be seen on entry to the Hermandad de la Caridad.  They proclaim the power of Christian virtue and show that by following these examples death need not be so fearsome a threat.  The actions depicted prevent the deaths of the poor and unfortunate, while ensuring the death of the do-gooder himself will not lead to suffering.