Editing Caravaggio (section)

==== Naples ====
Following the death of Tomassoni, Caravaggio fled first to the estates of the [[Colonna family]] south of Rome and then on to Naples, where Costanza Colonna Sforza, widow of Francesco Sforza, in whose husband's household Caravaggio's father had held a position, maintained a palace. In Naples, outside the jurisdiction of the Roman authorities and protected by the Colonna family, the most famous painter in Rome became the most famous in Naples.
[[File:Caravaggio - Sette opere di Misericordia.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|''[[The Seven Works of Mercy]]'', 1606–1607, [[Pio Monte della Misericordia]], Naples]]

His connections with the Colonnas led to a stream of important church commissions, including the ''[[Madonna of the Rosary (Caravaggio)|Madonna of the Rosary]]'', and ''[[The Seven Works of Mercy]]''.<ref>Costanza's brother Ascanio was Cardinal-Protector of the Kingdom of Naples; another brother, Marzio, was an advisor to the Spanish Viceroy; and a sister was married into the important Neapolitan Carafa family. Caravaggio stayed in Costanza's palazzo on his return to Naples in 1609. These connections are treated in most biographies and studies—see, for example, Catherine Puglisi, "Caravaggio", p.258, for a brief outline. Helen Langdon, "Caravaggio: A Life", ch.12 and 15, and Peter Robb, "M", pp.398ff and 459ff, give a fuller account.</ref> ''The Seven Works of Mercy'' depicts the [[Works of Mercy#Corporal works of mercy|seven corporal works of mercy]] as a set of compassionate acts concerning the material needs of others. The painting was made for and is still housed in the church of [[Pio Monte della Misericordia]] in [[Naples]]. Caravaggio combined all seven works of mercy in one composition, which became the church's [[altarpiece]].<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1080/23753234.2017.1287283 | title=Caravaggio's 'Seven Works of Mercy' in Naples. The relevance of art history to cultural journalism | year=2017 | last1=Bühren | first1=Ralf van | journal=Church, Communication and Culture | volume=2 | pages=63–87 | s2cid=194755813 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Alessandro Giardino has also established the connection between the iconography of "The Seven Works of Mercy" and the cultural, scientific and philosophical circles of the painting's [[commissioners]].<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/15700593-01600100 | doi=10.1163/15700593-01600100 | title=The Seven Works of Mercy | year=2017 | last1=Giardino | first1=Alessandro | journal=Aries | volume=17 | issue=2 | pages=149–170 }}</ref>