The Seven Works of Mercy
Caravaggio's tormented painting is a dramatic guide to the life of virtue...
In 1606, Michelangelo Merisi — called “Caravaggio” after the Lombard town where he passed much of his youth — was a wanted man. It was no mere misdemeanor that haunted him, but the gravest of earthly crimes.
For while torment and temper had long plagued the life of the unstable Caravaggio, in Rome both had finally conquered him. Amid an ugly brawl borne out of jealousy over a woman, by accident or intent Caravaggio killed a man. Condemned to death by the Papal authorities and hunted by agents of the murdered man’s wealthy family, he fled the Eternal City.
Maimed though the soul of Caravaggio was, torn by the suffocating weight of sin, there remained one avenue of peace and redemption to him — the channeling of his remorse into the creation of beauty. Upon crossing the border into the Kingdom of Naples, then one of the constellation of realms that constituted the Spanish Empire, he would do just that.
As Providence would have it, that same year the Pio Monte della Misericordia, a lay fraternity of Naples dedicated to aiding the needy, had commenced work on a new church, and was in need of an altarpiece that reflected their Christian mission. One of the seven founders of the fraternity, Giovan Battista Manso, was also something of a connoisseur of the arts. He decided to grant the opportunity to Caravaggio — a man now infamous for his deeds, yet famous for his talents.
Over the following four months, Caravaggio painted as much for his soul as for his client. The result, the Sette Opere di Misericordia (the Seven Works of Mercy), is a potent guide to how a virtuous Christian should act — crafted by the hand of a man himself crying out for forgiveness.
Today, we explore the meaning of this masterpiece…
What is Mercy?
Valued since the days of Thomas Aquinas as one of the highest of all virtues, mercy in its purest essence is compassion towards those in misfortune, and a will to alleviate their suffering. To be merciful, therefore, is to channel the love of God. But how can Man do this?
As recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, Christ hails the blessing that awaits the merciful, and warns of the damnation that awaits the merciless:
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Matthew 23:34-46
Among those formidable words and others, therefore, emerge specific acts by which one might show mercy, and thus Christian virtue. It is these that are the seven corporal deeds, or 'works', of mercy, of which Caravaggio in this painting so theatrically reminds us.
To Feed the Hungry
“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat”
The virtuous shall aid the needy, just as the lady Pero came to her incarcerated and starving father Cimon, and in her humility suckled him from her own breast, risking her life to spare him from death. It is a tale known as Caritas Romana, or 'Roman Charity'.
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