Monks Buying Fish before the Portal of the Madonna della Misericordia

Ludwig Johann Passini

National Gallery of Art

The image shows a group of figures on a canal. Two men in traditional attire are in a small boat, one standing with a pole. Another figure in the boat hands something to two monks on stone steps. A brick wall with religious statues inset in a niche above a gothic archway entrance is in the background. Through the archway, an arched courtyard is visible. The horizon is not prominent. The painting is detailed, with precise brushstrokes creating texture in the bricks and fabric. The color palette is warm, with reds and browns of the brick wall and earthy tones of the clothing, contrasted by blues and greens of the water and clothing.