Caravaggio

This issue reveals the results of a new study on the Seven Works of Mercy, a crucial painting in Caravaggio’s mature output. Anchoring Merisi’s invention to the tradition from which it descends has made it possible to reconsider the meaning of the Madonna of Mercy and to offer an original slant for interpreting some of the charitable acts depicted in the lower part of the canvas. The text is accompanied by forty-two colour plates, the fruit of a photographic campaign carried out expressly for the publication, faithfully documenting in every detail the technique and the iconographic complexity of this masterpiece by Caravaggio.