Caravaggio - The Seven Works of Mercy - Google Art Project

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

* *

,
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 Misericordia
provided 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