Jürgen Müller
The Open Sky – Caravaggio's “The Seven Works of Mercy” in a new interpretation

Caravaggio's altarpiece “The Seven Works of Mercy” from the Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples is one of his most enigmatic pictorial inventions. The compilation of acts of mercy deviates extremely from the usual iconography of this theme. Gianluca Forgione recently devoted a comprehensive study to the work. He claims to have discovered a Jesuit program and interprets the candle bearer as a self-portrait of Caravaggio in the tradition of Michelangelo. In contrast, this lecture attempts to explore the political concept of mercy and uncover the contradictions contained in the painting.

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Müller holds the Chair of Modern Art History at the Technical University of Dresden. His work focuses on early modern art, photography and film. This summer, his monograph “Der Judaskuss der Malerei – Subversive Bildstrategien im Werk Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggios” will be published by Brill.