3-046-435 - "Royal Academy of Arts, London"/Heritage Images

The Good Samaritan, 1772. Biblical scene in the Gospel of Luke: a Samaritan happens upon a traveller (implicitly understood to be Jewish) who has been stripped of his clothing, beaten, and left half dead by the side of the road. Although Samaritans and Jews were generally antagonistic toward each other, the Samaritan helps the traveller. In the background are a Jewish priest and a Levite who had both previously refused their assistance. The Hogarth Stair at St Bartholomew's Hospital features two large paintings - The Good Samaritan and The Pool of Bethesda - by William Hogarth. Hogarth lived near the hospital and painted the works between 1735-37 as a gift, after learning that an Italian artist had been commissioned. The paintings are still on display in the 1732 Grade I-listed North Wing of St Bartholomew's Hospital - known as Barts - in the City of London. Patients have been cared for on the site at Smithfield since 1123, making it England's oldest working hospital.