2-976-009 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

St Martin Cutting Off Part of his Cloak for a Beggar, 1623. A large part of Droochsloot’s oeuvre is composed of village scenes with coarsely executed Brueghelian peasants. Acts of charity also constituted a considerable amount of his production. The present painting is the first of three showing the Christian nobleman, St Martin, dividing his cloak with a beggar. Unlike the other versions, St Martin wears a suit of armour in the Rijksmuseum painting. The contrast between the orderly peasants on the right and the brawling peasants on the left is common to all three works. The leafless trees and grey atmosphere evoke a winter setting; St Martin’s feast day was considered the first day of winter.