This painting seemingly depicts a crowded genre scene in a Dutch village, but there is more to it than meets the eye. The various groups of figures composing the scene symbolically illustrate the seven corporal acts of mercy: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to give shelter to travellers, to visit the sick, to visit the imprisoned, and to bury the dead. This composition is known in several versions.
