Many of you know of my love for Caravaggio. During a free
afternoon in Naples last October, a small group of us visited one of
Caravaggio’s most famous paintings, Le sette opere di Misericordia (The
Seven Acts of Mercy).
Amazingly, we were the only ones present, and standing in
front of this masterpiece I quietly read aloud from my notes as we immersed
ourselves into the drama of the painting.
A little art appreciation on a Sunday afternoon does
the soul good (that is my theory, anyway) so here are my notes. As you read, it is helpful to refer to the photo; you can even continue the art lesson with the Details to Note.
The Seven Acts of Mercy (refer to the image below)
1. Bury the
Dead
In the center background, two men carry a dead man (only his
feet are visible). A man is holding a candle (the only light source) and based
on his garments he is a priest. The man in the dark colored shirt is believed
to be the grave digger.
2. Shelter the
Homeless
Third from left, a bearded man with a scallop shell on his
hat is asking for shelter. He is a pilgrim. The man directly in front of him is
the innkeeper who indicates with his finger (pointing out of the canvas) that
he has room and will offer shelter.
The scallop shell is the mark of a pilgrim and is connected
to the story of St. James the Great (a disciple of Christ). Today the Camino de
Santiago (Way of St. James) uses the scallop shell as mile markers on the
pilgrim’s path to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Additionally, scallop shells
are often found on baptismal fonts and often used to scoop the water over the
head of those being baptized.
3. Clothe the
Naked
The fourth figure from the left is St. Martin of Tours who
is tearing his robe in half to give it to the naked beggar in the foreground.
Above the beggar’s shoulder, St. Martin’s sword appears as a slash of white as
he has just used it to slice the fabric.
The legend of St. Martin, a Roman soldier stationed in Gaul,
was that he saw a beggar as he approached the city gates. Determined to help,
he removed his military cloak and cut it in two and wrapped the beggar with one
half. That night, St. Martin had a dream in which he saw Jesus wearing the
cloak and telling the angels of the man who had shared it with him. St. Martin
believed the dream offered the message that caring for the poor is like caring
for Christ. Eventually, the cloak of St. Martin became a relic.
4. Visit the
Sick
The next portion of Caravaggio’s Seven Works of Mercy is the
hardest to see, probably due to the darkening of the canvas over time. In the
front of the painting and next to the beggar’s left arm, you will notice a
foot, indicating there is another man in this section (his face is just below
St. Martin’s sword). This is the sick man, perhaps crippled given the angle of
his foot.
Standing over the sick man is the pilgrim in a dual role
since he is painted as Christ healing the crippled man.
5. Refresh the
Thirsty
Standing between the pilgrim and the innkeeper is a wild,
bearded man drinking from a bone, the water splashing onto his face. This man
is Samson (yes, from Samson and Delilah). But this image references a different
story from Judges 15 when Samson was fighting the Philistines and used the
jawbone of a donkey to kill a thousand men. After the battle, Samson was
thirsty so God opened up the jawbone and water came out of it to revive Samson.
Admittedly, Caravaggio’s inclusion of this story was
confusing. He was meant to portray the seven mercies, or kindnesses, performed
by humans for each other, but in Samson’s case God is the one performing the
kindness.
6-7 Visit the Imprisoned, Feed the Hungry
These next two Acts of Mercy are combined into one image of
the woman breastfeeding a man in prison. While unusual in modern contexts, the
story was a familiar one of the time (Roman in origin) and occasionally
appeared in other works of art.
Details to Note:
1- Always in trouble with the
law, Caravaggio took refuge in Naples after he committed a murder in Rome
during a violent argument. It was during this exile that he painted this
masterpiece.
2- Caravaggio is known for
his chiaroscuro painting technique which uses the contrast of
light and dark for dramatic effect. His dark paintings usually contain a light
source to draw the eye to important details. In this painting, the man carrying
the candle provides the only light source, perhaps a metaphor for mercy as the
acts themselves illuminate darkness.
3- He received the commission
to depict the Seven Works of Mercy for Pio Monte della Misericordia (a
charitable organization) founded by seven noblemen of Naples in order to care
for the poor. It is still in operation today.
4- One of the most important
documents in the church’s archives is an invoice, dated 14 October 1607, for
400 ducats in payment to Caravaggio for the painting.
5- The Works of Mercy are based
on verses from the Gospel of Matthew; the only one not mentioned in Matthew is
Bury the Dead (it is referenced in the Book of Tobit where burying the dead is
mentioned as an important work of charity).
6- While the Seven Works of
Mercy are usually depicted in seven separate scenes, Caravaggio chose to
combine all seven works of mercy into one composition, which became the
church’s altarpiece.
7- The work is divided into two
parts: the top half is celestial (with angels and Mary with the Christ child
observing the action below); the bottom half is terrestrial, or the earthly
realm.
8- The angel’s hand, reaching
toward the lower figures, is a slash of light through darkness serving to
connect the two halves of the painting. The open pose of his hand is associated
with giving a blessing.
