Tag: Museo della Misericordia

This museum opened in 2016 and it tells the story of the Misericordia of Florence, a charity established in the thirteenth century. It has provided charity, social care and treatment to the people of the city since its creation, with the members of the organisation always helping anonymously, so they would usually wear a mask covering their heads. The museum is located by Florence Cathedral, so it’s easy enough to find.

I’ve already posted separately about:

Tribute to the Misericordia by Cesare Riesch

Saint Tobias by Santi di Tito

Misericordia Brothers Collecting the Wounded

Misericordia Brothers Offering Charity

Saint John the Baptist by Giovanni Martini

When we went to the museum the staff member was on the ground floor as there were no other visitors, so she guided us in the lift up to the fourth floor. There is a sheet of paper with English translations on, although the text around the museum is nearly all translated into English as well. The museum is clearly laid out, not too in-depth with the information and there are plenty of exhibits. The photographs are particularly interesting, although the head covering does make some of them look a little sinister. The museum is also fully disabled accessible because of various lifts located around, which isn’t always the case with historical locations in Florence.

There’s a video at the start of the museum which gives some background to the charity, as well as featuring some of the work that they still do. The above photo shows that they still provide medical services at football games across the country. A visit to the museum isn’t likely to take much longer than 45 minutes, but it’s a fascinating look at how the charity has developed over the centuries and the good which it has done.

As I mentioned in other posts about this museum, the Misericordia were a group of individuals who performed charitable works anonymously. This painting is in tribute to them and their charity, although I think it’s quite a disconcerting artwork. It was painted by Cesare Riesch (1906-1982) and was given to the museum by his family after he died. A nice sentiment, but a very direct image.

This artwork was painted in oils by Santi di Tito in around 1578 to 1580. He was an influential local painter who was born in Florence in 1536 and died in the city in 1603. I think that Saint Tobias is the patron saint of grave-diggers, along with Saint Anthony and Saint Joseph, it seems quite a competitive role….. Anyway, an interesting artwork, but there’s unfortunately no obvious provenance of where this painting has been over the centuries.

Further to my post about the work of the Misericordia Brothers, the below photograph shows them picking up a wounded person in Florence as one of their acts of charity.

It seemed to take a lot of people to collect the injured person, but there we go, I’m sure that it was a publicity shot. Not that any of the individuals would benefit from the publicity given they were anonymous, but at least the organisation’s work was highlighted.

As a background, the Museo della Misericordia is a museum in Florence which highlights the centuries of charitable work from the Brothers of Mercy. The charitable work had to be conducted anonymously, which personally I’d consider a right nightmare, I’d at least want to be recognised for all my goodness. Although I suppose it makes it easier for those who get bored offering their charity, they can sneak off and they won’t be recognised.

Anyway, it’s that requirement for anonymity that is behind this painting of the charitable work which the members of the Brothers of Mercy were responsible for. To this day, the charity is still engaged in helping the injured and sick, providing social transport, medical help at sports matches and home care. This artwork is by Pittore Fiorentino and was painted in the second half of the nineteenth century. At first, it all looks a bit sinister, it’s only when looking for longer that the selfless acts of kindness are noticeable.

Giovanni Martini was born in Udine in the 1470s and died in the city in 1535, having painted mostly religious images throughout his career. This image of Saint John the Baptist was painted in the early 1490s and I hadn’t realised that the Ecce Agnus Dei on this painting means “Behold the Lamb of God”, the words used by John Baptist before baptising Jesus. It’s one of the more sympathetic portrayals of John the Baptist that I’ve seen, quite an elegant artwork.

Martini spent most of his time in Friuli, north of Venice, so I’m not sure if he ever visited Florence. The National Gallery in London have another of Martini’s works, which is a panel painting which would have been used as an altarpiece. It was in such poor repair that the gallery didn’t show it, but recently a significant project was undertaken to restore it and bring it back on display, with details at https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/complex-conservation-an-altarpiece-in-need-of-attention.