Across the campo from the church of San Toma is the gothic Scuola dei Calegheri (Guild of the Cobblers or Shoe-makers). There’s another beautiful Madonna della Misericordia relief on the façade of the scuola and below that, a lunette over the door that shows San Marco healing the cobbler Anianus, who'd hurt his hand while making shoes and converted to Christianity after Mark healed him (and later became a saint himself). This Renaissance relief was sculpted by Pietro Lombardo, who may have copied a drawing by master painter Giovanni Bellini.
This is the scuola, with the Frari campanile behind it:
The Madonna della Misericordia on the facade:
The Lombardi/Bellini relief:
The Madonna above is just one of many images of the Madonna della Misericordia (Our Lady of Mercy) in Venice. Venice was the first place that I ever saw this particular Madonna, but now I'm seeing her all over.
SandraC found a very nice one on her recent trip to Perugia on a banner in the Oratorio of San Bernardino.
And just recently, I saw a lovely one at the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh. This one is German, not Italian, carved of lindenwood in about 1470, and called “Madonna and Child Sheltering Supplicants under Her Cloak.”
From the museum website:
"The image reminded Catholic worshippers of the Virgin Mary's role as an intercessor before God, always ready to plead for mercy on behalf of those in physical or spiritual distress.
The Madonna stands on a crescent moon, indicating her role as Queen of Heaven."
Comments (7)
Lovely post, Annie. And a very interesting link to at least 21 of Venice's Misericordias. Did you compile that?
Coincidentally, I posted another Madonna della Misericordia today, from Arezzo. (Altho, because I was writing in a hurry over lunch, I didn't identify her properly.)
Perhaps we need to combine forces and do a proper book/catalogue of MDMs from across Italy. (This would, of course, require a lot of travel and research!)
Posted by sandrac | October 8, 2008 3:36 PM
Posted on October 8, 2008 15:36
That was a beautiful post - love the pictures! I adore bell towers. :)
Posted by Leslie | October 8, 2008 5:50 PM
Posted on October 8, 2008 17:50
Hi Annie, I enjoyed reading about the Scuola dei Calegheri. Wonderful close-up photos. And I also enjoyed reading Sandra's entry that you referenced.
Thanks for the great read this evening Annie!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | October 8, 2008 10:20 PM
Posted on October 8, 2008 22:20
How interesting. I love learning more about Venice from your blog. The third photo is my favorite. It is such a beautiful relief. I love how it has a bit of color. I also love the shape of the arch. Great post!
I saw your Governor on TV today talking about the possibility of your state going blue :)
Posted by girasoli | October 8, 2008 11:51 PM
Posted on October 8, 2008 23:51
Me again. I read on a couple of blog comments that Maria had surgery. I hope she is continuing to do well.
Posted by girasoli | October 9, 2008 7:06 PM
Posted on October 9, 2008 19:06
Girasoli, thanks! She's doing well - seems to feel just fine. It's kinda challenging to keep her quiet and inactive but she did get in my lap and take a long nap this afternoon. Thanks for asking about her!
And yes, I heard that the governor was on national TV last night. The polls continue to look good.
Posted by Annie | October 9, 2008 7:22 PM
Posted on October 9, 2008 19:22
Neat post! And yes, Sandra and Annie, please join forces and publish something!!
Oh and the news about NC is awesome - although I am afraid it won't go all the way.
Posted by Chiocciola | October 9, 2008 8:31 PM
Posted on October 9, 2008 20:31