The Pio Monte della Misericordia is a church in the historic center of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, southern Italy. It is famous for its art works, including
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
's ''
The Seven Works of Mercy''.
A charity brotherhood (''Pio Monte della Misericordia'' meaning "Pious Mount of Mercy" in Italian) was founded in August 1601 by seven young nobles, who met every Friday at the Hospital for Incurables and ministered to the sick.
In 1602 they established an institution and commissioned a small church,
built by
Gian Giacomo di Conforto, near the staircase leading to the
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
, on the corner of the
Via dei Tribunali and the Vico dei Zuroli.
In 1605, they received an apostolic letter from Pope Paul V, according special privileges to the high altar.
The church was consecrated in September 1606.
From 1658 to 1678 the edifice was enlarged, also with the annexation of neighbouring structures, by architect
Francesco Antonio Picchiati, forming a complex with a palace and a renewed church.
The latter, at the high altar, houses Caravaggio's ''
Seven Works of Mercy''. There are also paintings by
Luca Giordano
Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain.
Earl ...
,
Carlo Sellitto
Carlo Sellitto (1581 – 2 October 1614 in Naples) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period.
One of the most gifted followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), Sellitto played an important role in the spread of Caravaggism ...
,
Fabrizio Santafede
Fabrizio Santafede or Fabrizio Santaféde (c. 1560–1623/28) was an Italian painter known for his altarpieces. He painted in a style that rejected the Mannerism popular in the Naples of his time and evident in the works of Francesco Curia. Lif ...
,
Battistello Caracciolo
Giovanni Battista Caracciolo (also called Battistello) (1578–1635) was an Italian artist and important Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio. He was a member of the murderous Cabal of Naples, with Belisario Corenzio and Giambattista Caracciolo, w ...
and others.
The noblemen of the brotherhood at Pio Monte della Misericordia were looking for painters "to give permanent visual expression to their sense of charitable mission”. Regarding the sharp contrasts of the
chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...
in
Caravaggio's painting’s, the German art historian
Ralf van Bühren
Ralf van Bühren (born 3 February 1962) is a German art historian, architectural historian, church historian, and theologian, who teaches at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. His art history lectures are open to students of US un ...
explains the bright light as a metaphor for
mercy
Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...
, which "helps the audience to explore mercy in their own lives".
References
Bibliography
*
*
Ralf van Bühren
Ralf van Bühren (born 3 February 1962) is a German art historian, architectural historian, church historian, and theologian, who teaches at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. His art history lectures are open to students of US un ...
,
Caravaggio’s ‘Seven Works of Mercy’ in Naples. The relevance of art history to cultural journalism, in ''Church, Communication and Culture'' 2 (2017), pp. 63–87
*
Andrew Graham-Dixon
Andrew Michael Graham-Dixon (born 26 December 1960) is a British art historian and broadcaster.
Life and career
Early life and education
Andrew Graham-Dixon is a son of the barrister Anthony Philip Graham-Dixon (1929–2012), Q.C., and ...
, ''Caravaggio. A Life Sacred and Profane'', London: Allen Lane, Penguin Books 2010
* Helen Langdon, ''Caravaggio'', Random House 2012 - .
External links
Pio Monte della Misericordia Official websiteVirtual tour of the Pio Monte della Misericordiaprovided by
Google Arts & Culture
*
{{Authority control
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1606
17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Art museums and galleries in Naples
Churches in Naples
1602 establishments in Italy