Por Redaccion 
The exhibition ‘Arte y misericordia. La Santa Caridad de Sevilla’ will open its doors on July 1st at the Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla. The show will offer a unique opportunity to closely observe masterpieces by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Juan de Valdés Leal, and Pedro Roldán that are usually displayed at great heights or part of altarpieces in the church of Señor San Jorge of the Hermandad de la Santa Caridad.
The exhibition is the result of collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the charitable organization, whose facilities – the church and the hospital – are currently undergoing rehabilitation work. This is why a selection of outstanding pieces from its magnificent art collection are being showcased at the Sevillian art gallery.
The Minister of Culture and Sports, Patricia del Pozo, has emphasized that visitors will have the opportunity to see in this exhibition «a selection of the most outstanding works from the church of Señor San Jorge and the Hospital de la Caridad,» in what will be a «unique opportunity to deeply explore one of the pinnacles of the Baroque, allowing direct access to works by Murillo, Valdés Leal, Pedro Roldán, and Duque Cornejo.»
The exhibition at the Museo de Bellas Artes will occupy the entire temporary exhibition hall, divided into three different areas: the first one dedicated to Valdés Leal, the second to Murillo, and the third focused on the various sculptures created for the church of this institution, which dates back to the 15th century and is devoted to the care of the most disadvantaged.
Among the works presented in ‘Arte y misericordia. La Santa Caridad de Sevilla’ are the two paintings by Valdés Leal that most citizens associate with the institution that Miguel de Mañara, who was its elder brother in the 17th century, gave impetus to: ‘Finis Gloriae Mundi’ and ‘In Ictu Oculi’, better known as the ‘Postrimerías’. These are accompanied by a portrait of Mañara painted by this Sevillian artist.
The ‘Postrimerías’ are part of the iconographic design of the former elder brother of the Charity for the church, for which he also engaged the services of Murillo. In this exhibition at the Bellas Artes, seven works by this artist will be on display: ‘The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes’, ‘Moses Striking the Rock at Horeb’, ‘Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Healing the Lepers’, ‘Saint John of God Transporting a Sick Person’, ‘The Incarnation’, ‘Child Jesus’, and ‘Child Saint John the Baptist’.
In addition to these paintings, the Sevillian museum will exhibit sculptures such as the Virgin of Charity, an anonymous polychrome carving by Valdés Leal, the two lamp-bearing angels by Pedro Duque Cornejo, the ‘Ecce Homo’ by the brothers Francisco and Miguel García, and three works by Pedro Roldán, the Christ of Charity, Saint George, and Saint Roch.
Mañara’s Iconographic Program
This hospital in the Arenal area, home of the Hermandad de la Santa Caridad de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo de Sevilla, dates back to the 15th century and was established with the purpose of assisting the sick and needy, as well as providing Christian burial to the executed and drowned in the Guadalquivir River. The construction of the church of San Jorge took place in several stages, with the first one between 1645 and 1662, laying the foundations and raising the initial walls.
However, it wasn’t until 1667, thanks to the determination of Miguel de Mañara, that the body of the church was completed. A year later, the head of the temple was built, followed by the sacristy, culminating in the final stages in 1721. The facade of the current church is the result of several modifications from the original, and was definitively shaped in the 18th century, with the characteristic tile panels by ceramist José García and the clay sculptures attributed to Pedro Duque Cornejo.
The exhibition aims to delve into the iconographic program that Miguel de Mañara conceived for the temple of the Hospital de la Santa Caridad, where the integration of architecture, sculpture, and painting provides a significant example of the Baroque’s approach to total artwork, with a paradigmatic use of public staging of religiosity that was imposed in the Church after the Council of Trent.