# Refreshing the Thirsty

- By: Michael Sweerts (Brussels, 1618–1664)
- Date: c. 1646 - c. 1649
- Medium: canvas, oil paint (paint)
- Classification: painting
- Dimensions: height 72 cm x width 97.5 cm
- Credit line: Purchased with the support of the Commissie voor Fotoverkoop
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/SK-A-2846--5d80fa8eff4c2ce7575012de2e12f4a3)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/pAjvX/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Sweerts painted his series of the ‘Seven Works of Mercy’ on different kinds of linen. For this painting, he used rather coarse canvas; accordingly, his brushstrokes are broader. Visible in the background of this scene is the church of Santissima Trinità dei Monti in Rome, an allusion to the necessity – then as now – of helping the needy and offering refreshment to the thirsty.