The Hospital de la Caridad is a charitable organization for Sevilla's poor and homeless. It was founded in 1674 by Don Miguel Manera and still runs today. The founder was a rich philandering nobleman who once was the Mayor of Sevilla. Something happened to him such that he decided to spend his fortune and life for a place to help those who needed it. It has been said that he is the inspiration for the tales of Don Juan as well as the opera Don Giovanni.
The inner courtyard is a wonderful with historical architecture and sculpture.
You feel at ease here. It did not have a lot of visitors, which is a shame.
The chapel was built in the Baroque style. Some might say it is over the top but that is what Baroque does.
This mixed media altar is very detailed, with wooden figures at the bottom, painting behind, and ornate pillars and archway.
The angels on either side of the chapel are part messenger and part warrior.
The art is particularly interesting. This one has death extinguishing the life of the candle with much discarded wealth and knowledge around it.
Here, over a dead and decayed bishop, life is judged through scales.
Here lady death visits the figure on the right, while items of wealth and human achievement lie between them on a table. All three say that death comes to everyone and that you cannot take it with you.
In the last courtyard is a little garden and seating area. The arches are from the heyday of Sevilla as they were part of the drydocks where large sailing ships were made. The water was much closer to this structure then.
No comments:
Post a Comment