![Petrus van Schendel - Charity in the Night Market [c.1851-54]](http://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5581/31135452676_0bacd56b91_b.jpg)
Unseen by the public for over a century, the present work depicts the charitable gift of an elegantly-posed woman and her child, alongside the sort of busy night market scene at which Schendel (1806 - 1870) excelled. The architecture is essentially based on landmarks in The Hague, where Schendel lived from 1838 until he relocated to Brussels in 1845. Backlit by moonlight, the steep gable of the city's Ridderzaal, the main building of the Binnenhof complex which hosts the Dutch Parliament, is visible above the market. While the foreground suggests the porch of a church, the architecture, masterfully illuminated by both moon and candle light, recalls the former stadthuis of Rotterdam.
[Sotheby’s, London - Oil on panel, 62 x 78 cm]