91Ó°ÊÓ

Thesis: Carità, Pietà, Vergogna: Picturing Poverty in Emilian Art, 1590-1660

Funded by 91Ó°ÊÓ Scholarship (2024 – 2025); AHRC/CHASE (2025 –Ìý)

Supervised by Prof. Guido RebecchiniÌý

Advised by (Universität Wien)Ìý

My research explores the position of the poor in early modern Europe by focussing on the religious and social reforms that took place in the northern Italian region of Emilia from the very end of the cinquecento to the mid-seicento. Marked by a transformation in devotional practices and by an effervescence of visual experimentation, artists of the region (Annibale Carracci, Pietro Faccini, Bartolomeo Schedoni, Guercino) created a novel perception of poverty in response to new models for managing its growing presence among the population.

By re-assessing depictions of the poor in a wide range of visual sources, from prominent pictorial commissions to quick and informal drawings, my research shows that poverty was a pervasive and powerful presence at all levels of visual culture. I also investigate the extant collections of artworks and everyday objects formed by Catholic charities dedicated to alleviating the hardship of the poor.