Confraternal mercy and Federico Barocci's 'Madonna del Popolo': An iconographic study

This thesis discusses the context and iconography of the Italian artist Federico Barocci's (1528-1612) painting Madonna del Popolo (Uffizi, Florence). Commissioned by the Pia Confraternita dei Laici di S. Maria della Misericordia for their chapel in Pieve di Arezzo, Barocci develops the moralizing scene into an inventive iconographic depiction that includes acts of almsgiving and the visiting of prisoners to stand in for the Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy, outlined in Matthew 25:31-46. This thesis provides an introduction to confraternities, the religious brotherhoods that flourished in central Italy, and a discussion of the Aretine confraternal patrons of the Madonna del Popolo. It addresses Barocci's extensive preparatory process for this work in light of previous models for the subject and with regard to the tightening of iconographic regulations that took place in the wake of the Counter-Reformation, arguing that Barocci's innovative interpretation was particularly suited to the nature of the commission. Finally, this paper provides a discussion of the artist's prolific activities as a draftsman and innovator in the medium of pastel; a complete listing of the approximately ninety extant preparatory drawings for the painting appears in the appendix.