Description
The Seven Works of Mercy , painted around 1606–1607 for the Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples, combines the seven corporal works of mercy of Christian tradition within a single composition. Caravaggio transforms the different episodes into an apparently simultaneous nocturnal scene. Roman Charity, Saint Martin sharing his cloak, Samson drinking and the carrying of a dead body are integrated among figures crossing and overlapping within a dark urban space.
Above them, the Virgin and Child accompanied by angels descend from the heavenly realm, linking the charitable actions taking place below with divine mercy. The concentration of figures, selective illumination and fusion of several independent episodes make the painting one of Caravaggio's most complex compositions and a fundamental work in the development of Neapolitan naturalism.
