Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome between 1592-1610. He pioneered a hyper-realistic style using chiaroscuro techniques with dramatic lighting. His early works included homoerotic paintings but he is best known for religious works commissioned in Rome depicting dramatic scenes. However, he had a violent temperament and was often in trouble with the authorities, eventually killing a man in 1606 and fleeing Rome as a result. He continued painting while in exile until his death from malaria in 1610.
The greatest Flemish artist of 16th century. This realistic and landscape painter, gives us a gleam of life in the Low Country 400 years ago. His paintings are full of details & messages and.so interesting to look at. Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c1525/30-69), nicknamed ‘Peasant Bruegel’, was the most important satirist in the Netherlands after Bosch and one of the greatest landscape painters. After he became Master in the Antwerp Guild in 1551, he went to France and Italy, travelling as far south as Sicily. He was impressed by the landscape of Italy but not so on the Italian paintings. From his painter, he gave us insights to the peasant life and their relationship with nature of 16C in the Low Countries. He was an educated man, well able to associate with his distinguished clients sophisticated enough disguised his political opinions as a biblical story.
Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (December 7, 1598 – November 28, 1680) was a pre-eminent Baroque sculptor and architect of 17th Century Rome.
Wikipedia-based presentation
Baroque art and architecture, the visual arts and building design and construction produced during the era in the history of Western art that roughly coincides with the 17th century. The earliest manifestations, which occurred in Italy, date from the latter decades of the 16th century, while in some regions, notably Germany and colonial South America, certain culminating achievements of Baroque did not occur until the 18th century. The work that distinguishes the Baroque period is stylistically complex, even contradictory. In general, however, the desire to evoke emotional states by appealing to the senses, often in dramatic ways, underlies its manifestations. Some of the qualities most frequently associated with the Baroque are grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitality, movement, tension, emotional exuberance, and a tendency to blur distinctions between the various arts.
An intro to early medieval art: Christianity, Barbarians, Vikings, illuminated manuscripts, Carolingian era art and architecture, Charlemagne, Sutton Hoo, and more!
Caravaggio was one of the most extraordinary characters in the history of art. He was the prototype of the turbulent Bohemian artist, his explosive personality helping to obscure the traditional elements of his paintings. His dramatic use of light and shade and uncompromising realism creating a new pictorial vocabulary for European art. From c1599 he drew on High Renaissance and even antique models, with his decorum defying realism. His influence was indeed greatest on artists in areas of Flemish artistic ascendancy. It is almost impossible to overestimate the influence of Caravaggio.
He was not only the most powerful and influential Italian painter of the 17C, but also one of the prototypes of the idea of the artist as a rebel outside the normal conventions of society, punctuated by disputes with patrons about his unconventional treatment of religious themes. Caravaggio was one of the few real revolutionaries who really changed the history of painting. His aggressively realistic and dramatically lit paintings swept away the remains of the late Renaissance Mannerist style. He marked the beginning of the Baroque painting. Fiercely original Caravaggio had left us a basket of rotting fruits and an aging Madonna that no artist had followed.
The greatest Flemish artist of 16th century. This realistic and landscape painter, gives us a gleam of life in the Low Country 400 years ago. His paintings are full of details & messages and.so interesting to look at. Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c1525/30-69), nicknamed ‘Peasant Bruegel’, was the most important satirist in the Netherlands after Bosch and one of the greatest landscape painters. After he became Master in the Antwerp Guild in 1551, he went to France and Italy, travelling as far south as Sicily. He was impressed by the landscape of Italy but not so on the Italian paintings. From his painter, he gave us insights to the peasant life and their relationship with nature of 16C in the Low Countries. He was an educated man, well able to associate with his distinguished clients sophisticated enough disguised his political opinions as a biblical story.
Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (December 7, 1598 – November 28, 1680) was a pre-eminent Baroque sculptor and architect of 17th Century Rome.
Wikipedia-based presentation
Baroque art and architecture, the visual arts and building design and construction produced during the era in the history of Western art that roughly coincides with the 17th century. The earliest manifestations, which occurred in Italy, date from the latter decades of the 16th century, while in some regions, notably Germany and colonial South America, certain culminating achievements of Baroque did not occur until the 18th century. The work that distinguishes the Baroque period is stylistically complex, even contradictory. In general, however, the desire to evoke emotional states by appealing to the senses, often in dramatic ways, underlies its manifestations. Some of the qualities most frequently associated with the Baroque are grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitality, movement, tension, emotional exuberance, and a tendency to blur distinctions between the various arts.
An intro to early medieval art: Christianity, Barbarians, Vikings, illuminated manuscripts, Carolingian era art and architecture, Charlemagne, Sutton Hoo, and more!
Caravaggio was one of the most extraordinary characters in the history of art. He was the prototype of the turbulent Bohemian artist, his explosive personality helping to obscure the traditional elements of his paintings. His dramatic use of light and shade and uncompromising realism creating a new pictorial vocabulary for European art. From c1599 he drew on High Renaissance and even antique models, with his decorum defying realism. His influence was indeed greatest on artists in areas of Flemish artistic ascendancy. It is almost impossible to overestimate the influence of Caravaggio.
He was not only the most powerful and influential Italian painter of the 17C, but also one of the prototypes of the idea of the artist as a rebel outside the normal conventions of society, punctuated by disputes with patrons about his unconventional treatment of religious themes. Caravaggio was one of the few real revolutionaries who really changed the history of painting. His aggressively realistic and dramatically lit paintings swept away the remains of the late Renaissance Mannerist style. He marked the beginning of the Baroque painting. Fiercely original Caravaggio had left us a basket of rotting fruits and an aging Madonna that no artist had followed.
“Caravaggio (1571-1610) is one of the most revolutionary figures in art. His intense naturalism almost brutal realism and dramatic lighting had a wide impact on European artists, including Orazio Gentileschi, Valentin de Boulogne and Gerrit van Honthorst. Each absorbed something different from Caravaggio, propagating his style across Europe. But by the mid-17C, Caravaggism was at odds with a prevailing preference for classicism and the reputation of these artists waned, not be revived until the mid-20C.” Beyond Caravaggio Introduction.
Its collection is primarily makeup of 16C and 17C Italian Baroque paintings with a noticeable Dutch pcollection, but it does cover a range of European printings before the 19C. If you are in Rome and only have time to visit one painting gallery in Rome then I would recommend you to visit this one. The Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica or National Gallery of Ancient Art has two sites in Rome - Barberini Gallery and the Corsini Gallery. The Barberini’s collection is more comprehensive and much larger than the Corsini Gallery, which more like an annex to Barberini.
The Galleria Borghese is the home of an extraordinary collections of large number of unique masterpieces, dating from antiquity. In 1807 nearly all the archaeological collection was sold by Camillo Borghese to his brother-in-law, Napoleon, becoming an essential part of the Louvre collection in Paris. Some of the pieces sold have been replaced by later acquisitions. The gallery is uniquely located in the middle of a park, serenely blending architecture and nature. Recent restoration, which took over a decade of work, of the build was completed in 1997. Among it collections are half a dozen of paintings by the young Caravaggio, Titan’s painting of ‘Sacred and Profane Love’. Several works by Raphael, some of the best sculpture by Bernini, include the David, Apollo and Daphine etc. It is one of the world most exclusive gallery.
A R T O F T H E M I D D L E A N D L A T E
1 9 T H C E N T U R Y
Realism in Painting and
Literature
Learning Objectives
To understand the forces which led to the
development of the Realist style
To recognize the major characteristics of Realist
painting
To be able to identify the major subjects of Realist
painting and literature
Realism in Painting
In part due to the impact of photography, the Realist painters wanted to branch
away from fantastic or Romanticized representation of life and nature and
instead strove to depict real-life events with real-life detail.
Realists tried to move away from their own feelings and ideas and instead
represent life as it actually was – not filtered through just one person’s
understanding or emotion. They wanted to represent life without any
embellishments and this meant even dealing with its ugly, dirty, or low sides.
Ultimately, they aimed for objective rather than subjective representation.
They were also concerned with contemporary events – with the here and now
rather than some romanticized past or utopian future.
The subject matter consists almost exclusively of the lower classes and rural poor.
Realists tried to convey the idea that ordinary people in modern times, not
archaic gods or kings and queens, were the proper subject for modern art.
The Realists also generally refused to use traditional iconography in their
paintings, such as Biblical allusions, mythological subjects, or complex symbols.
Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)
Courbet was one of the leading figures in this shift away from Romantic,
sublime, and idealized art toward a more true-to-life style in painting. He,
like most Realists, was also a social activist on the side of the working classes.
What follows are a few quotes from Courbet that reveal his new approach to
painting and which reinforce the characteristics on the previous slide:
“To be able to translate the customs, ideas, and appearances of my time as I
see them – in a word, to create a living art this has been my aim…”
“The art of painting can consist only in the representation of objects visible
and tangible to the painter…[who must apply] his personal faculties to the
ideas and the things of the period in which he lives…”
“I hold also that painting is an essentially concrete art, and can consist only
of the representation of things both real and existing…An abstract object,
invisible or nonexistent, does not belong to the domain of painting”
“A painter should paint only what he can see.” When asked why he never
painted angels, Courbet replied, “Show me an angel, and I’ll paint one.”
Courbet
Self-Portrait
1848
Here is Courbet’s self-portrait. You can tell he
has not tried to create an idealized image of
himself or an overly sentimental image either. It
is simply what he sees in the mirror – for better
or for worse!
Gustave Courbet The Stone-Breake.
Claude Monet (1840-1926) was the leading member of the Impressionist group and the one who longest practised the principles of absolute fidelity to the visual sensation and painting directly from the object, in necessary out of door. Cezanne is said to have described him as ’only one eye, but my God what an eye!’. Monet is also the one who took impressionism into new contradictory way to become, in the 1940s, a major influence on Abstract Expressionism.
Galicia is a green rain-swept region remarkable for its coastal cliffs and bays (rias). Traditionally, it was seen as a poor agricultural region whose economy did not lend itself to modernization. It was never conquered by the Moors. Bordering Portugal to the south and enclosed by the waters of the Atlantic, Galicia could offer its inhabitants little on the way of new land for cultivation. Overpopulation and unemployment forced many to emigrate. Galicia has always maintained strong links with the sea, with A Coruna, a port for commerce and industry. However fishing is vital to the economy and Galician seafood is the best in Spain.
Clara Peeters (1594-c1659) was active between 1607 and 1621. Unlike many of the women painters of her time, she specialized on Still-life. She was a pioneer female painter. Early female painters were mostly portrait painters. There is not much known about her life as well. Her paintings of tables of food and other objects ware early manifestations of naturalism. As far as we know, her paintings of fish are the first that were dedicated to this subject.
Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) lived in Bologna, Italy. She was a contemporary of Sofonisba Anguissola, who was internationally known. Her father was a distinguished printed of the School of Bologna. Her earliest work was printed in 1575, ‘The Child of the Monkey’, At 23. She specialised in painted portraits and mainly on women of nobleman and of high society. She was particularly skilled in painting dresses. Her relationships with female clients were often warm and some became godparents of her children.
Fontana married artist Gian Zappi in 1577. She gave birth to 11 children. After the marriage Fontana continued to paint to support her family. Zappi cared for the household and served as assistant agent in selling his wife’s painting. He also depicted small elements of her pictures such as draperies and another details.
Lavinia was elected an honorary member of the University of Bologna and was honoured as a doctorate in 1580.
In 1603, she and her family moved Rome on the invitation of Pope Clement VIII and appointed as a portraitist in the Vatican. Her career flourished in Rome. She was elected to the San Luca Academy in Rome. She died in 1614 and left behind over 100 of her work.
Anguissola was the first Western female painter that had gained an international fame. At an young age, she was introduced to Michelangelo, who immediately recognized her talent. In the late 1550s, she established herself, as a professional painter, in her native Italy. She was recruited to the Spanish court about 27 year ago. Her marriage was arranged by the Spanish King Philip II, to a Sicilian nobleman. Two years later her husband died and she remarried again to a sea captain Orazio Lomellino. In later year, she became quite famous and many young artists came to visit her and to discuss the arts with her. Amongst them was the young Anthony van Dyck, who painted one of Anguissola last portrait. More importantly she was a pioneer who had shown other women to pursue serious careers as professional painters.
The world’s oceans and seas cover 71% of the surface of the Earth. It makes the Earth unique within the Solar System. It is also where life first began. Today the ocean is regarded as the last major frontier on Earth for exploration and development of resources to sustain mankind in the future. The sea also has an irresistible attraction on us, drawing us nearer to the shores. The sound of the waves lashing on the sandy beaches, the gentle breeze of a hot summer evening, the shimmers of silver lights, the fisherman coming home with their catch, the long voyages of container carriers that link the world economy are all part of our acquaintance with the sea. In its fury, it can unleash power that can destroy cities, sending ships and army to the bottom of the sea. No wonder, apart from our scientists, the seas is often a favourite subject for artists, poets and musicians. The song La Mer was an example, composed and sang by Charles Trenet’s in 1946 offers us a romantics version of our encounter with the sea.
The British Isles are situated at the edge of the European continent. Historically the Roman invaded Britain in 43 AD and ruled for 350 years. This was followed by successive settlements by northern European. The last successful invasion was by the Norman from France in 1066. Today Britain is administratively divided into four main regions – Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. Culturally, British influence has been very important in the world. Many former colonies have inherited the political culture and the social practices from Britain, in particularly the English speaking countries of the world. Economically, Britain was the first country to begin the process of Industrial Revolution. Britain is rich in energy resource but poor in material resources. As an island country, maritime trading has been and important development in its economy. Geological its landscape is varied with many types of habitats.
In 1794. during the French Revolution, the commissioners appointed in our country seized art works of every kind from churches, monasteries, abbeys guildhalls and the houses of so-called emigres, i.e. the French bourgeois residing in Belgium. Whilst many of these conquetes artistiques were taken away to the Louvre in Paris and in Versailles, some 1500 items, mainly paintings, considered to be less valuable, were left in Brussel. Even if there were no masterpieces among them, they were to form the basis of what is now the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.
Van Dyck was among the greatest and the most successful portraitists who has ever lived. He dazzled 17C contemporaries not only in his native Netherlands but also in Italy and above all in England. His influence on subsequent portrait painting in Britain proved so great that it lasted to the beginning of 20C.
P Bruegel’s greatness is so widely acknowledged today that it is hard to imagine that in his life his supremacy was not recognised. He was immensely popular, but many contemporaries regarded his work as old-fasioned.
The greatest Flemish artist of 16th century. This realistic and landscape painter, gives us a gleam of life in the Low Country 400 years ago. His paintings are full of details & messages and so interesting to look at. Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c1525/30-69), nicknamed ‘Peasant Bruegel’, was the most important satirist in the Netherlands after Bosch and one of the greatest landscape painters. After he became Master in the Antwerp Guild in 1551, he went to France and Italy, travelling as far south as Sicily. He was impressed by the landscape of Italy but not so on the Italian paintings. From his painting, he gave us insights to the peasant life and their relationship with nature of 16C in the Low Countries. He was an educated man, well able to associate with his distinguished clients and sophisticated enough disguised his political opinions as a biblical story.
The greatest Flemish artist of 16th century. This realistic and landscape painter, gives us a gleam of life in the Low Country 400 years ago. His paintings are full of details & messages and so interesting to look at. Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c1525/30-69), nicknamed ‘Peasant Bruegel’, was the most important satirist in the Netherlands after Bosch and one of the greatest landscape painters. After he became Master in the Antwerp Guild in 1551, he went to France and Italy, travelling as far south as Sicily. He was impressed by the landscape of Italy but not so on the Italian paintings. From his painting, he gave us insights to the peasant life and their relationship with nature of 16C in the Low Countries. He was an educated man, well able to associate with his distinguished clients and sophisticated enough disguised his political opinions as a biblical story.
British Museum has a “permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. The British Museum was the first public national museum in the world.
The Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the Anglo-Irish physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. It first opened to the public in 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. The museum's expansion over the following 250 years was largely a result of British colonisation” Wikipedia.
London is one of the financial centre of the world. It is also an important centre for performance, arts, museums, theatres and fashion. What is particularly noticeable is that London is made up of two city centres. The City of London for finance, the West End for entertainment and the political entre of Westminster.
Yellowstone is US first National Park. It is also the world’s oldest. The park was created in 1872. Today National Parks are established for purpose of conservation. These are designated areas of natural beauty, an island in a developing world.
Today, Yellowstone National Park is probably the best known in the world and easily accessible. Wildlife abounds from the smallest to the largest mammals found in North America. The wolf, here, is a recovery story that is a major restoration of the balance of nature. There large herd of bison roaming in park, following their migration routes. Black and brown bears are frequently seen here. The park lies in the heart of the the Rocky Mountain Range. Here, powerful volcanic forces erupted 2 million, 1.3 million and as recently as 640,000 years ago, to create three of the world’s largest volcanic depressions, or calderas.
Native Americans have lived in the region for at least 11,000 years. Today with large number of visitors, the management and control of the park is vital to ensure its long term future.
The Rijksmuseum is a major European treasury of art. It houses the world’s greatest collection of Dutch paintings of 17C, the Golden Age. It is also a museum for Dutch history, art objects, drawings, sculptures and furniture. The building was opened in 1885. Its building was one of the first to be constructed specially as a museum. In 2004 the museum largely closed for 10 years to undertake a major renovation. The major features of the renovation were the of construction two large atriums covered by glass roofs to provide more amenity spaces for the visitors. The garden was also modified, statues were added, for the visitors to relax and enjoy the summer sun.
Human civilization has existed for a very short time on Earth. If we take the existence of Earth as equivalent to one year in time. Then human civilisation only appears on the last second of the last hour of the last day in the Earth’s year. Human has been fighting each other since the beginning of history. In the last century, we had two World Wars, when millions were killed. But I am the luck generation that miraculously never experienced wars, although the drums of wars are never too far away. We have arsenals of weapons that could destroy the world many times over. In my life time, I have also seen many of our children, marrying people of different races too. Our greatest enemy is ourselves. If we can survive this, there is the whole universe to explore. Finally, just remind ourselves that the longest Ice Age on Earth lasted for well over 1 billion years long and our civilisation is only 10,000 years old. 16 Jan 2022.
Paolo Veronese (c1528-88) was born in Verona and trained under several minor artists. The Chief influence on him was Titian. He worked in Venice probably from 1553, when he began his ceiling for the Doge’s Palace, with daring Sotto in Su (from below to above) perspective and Mannerist nudes in complicated poses filling up the picture space. He went to Rome for the first time in 1560, probably after he painted the frescoes in Villa Maser. He specialised mainly in huge pictures of Biblical, allegorical or historical subjects. With vast crowd and of accessory figures. Golden hair women, children, horses, dogs, apes, courtiers, musicians and soldier in armours.
For Sweden 13th December is an important day. It is the beginning of Christmas. It is the festival of Santa Lucia or the Festival of Light. On that day the eldest daughter of the family traditionally dresses in a white robe and wears a crown of candles, bringing lights to the dark winter. It is also a festive reason with specially dishes, foods and drinks for the occasion. Santa Lucia Festival is celebrated in Italy, Norway and Swedish Finland.
It is very scenic and the chosen location for The Roman Holiday, La Dolce Vita and There coins in the Fountain. It has many famous sites, rich in architecture and paintings – Pantheon, RoRome is known as the Eternal City because of its long history. man Forum, Colosseum, castel sant’ Angelo, Vatican, Basilica of St Peter, Trevi Fountain, If Gensu, the Spanish steps, Piazza Navona. Rome is shaped by two important artists Michelangelo and Bernini. This slideshow sketch the development of architecture from the Ancient, to the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque to the modern age.
In the history of Paris, the city has seen a lot of terror and a lot of bloodshed. The city was once occupied by the Roman in 52 BC and it was occupied again as recently as the Second World War, 70 years ago. Paris is always a vibrant city. It was the city of the Enlightened Philosophers and it was the city of the Impressionists. Today it is one of the most favourite tourist destination in the world. It is a city of light and romance and we will return to reclaim the city, its cafes, its theatres, its museums, its concert halls, its monuments, its streets and its squares. Viva la Paris.
The Legacy of Breton In A New Age by Master Terrance LindallBBaez1
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This are the interiors of the Merindol Colony in 2137ad after the Climate Change Collapse and the Apocalipse Wars. Merindol is a small Colony in the Italian Alps where there are around 4000 humans. The Colony values mainly around meritocracy and selection by effort.
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Kurgan is a russian expatriate that is secretly in love with Sonia Contado. Henry is a british soldier that took refuge in Merindol Colony in 2137ad. He is the lover of Sonia Contado.
Explore the multifaceted world of Muntadher Saleh, an Iraqi polymath renowned for his expertise in visual art, writing, design, and pharmacy. This SlideShare delves into his innovative contributions across various disciplines, showcasing his unique ability to blend traditional themes with modern aesthetics. Learn about his impactful artworks, thought-provoking literary pieces, and his vision as a Neo-Pop artist dedicated to raising awareness about Iraq's cultural heritage. Discover why Muntadher Saleh is celebrated as "The Last Polymath" and how his multidisciplinary talents continue to inspire and influence.
1. Caravaggi
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Medusa. 1597. Caravaggio.
A Genius and a Rebel
2. Tragedy of a Genius ?
Was Caravaggio’s life the tragedy of a
genius or an Evil one inspired by a demon?
Ruskin, a critic and social theorist, saw his
art as ‘signs of an evil mind, ill repressed’
in particular highlighting the ‘perpetual
seeking for and feeding upon horror and
ugliness, and filthiness of sin’.
Portrait of Caravaggio (Detail) by Ottavio Leoni.
‘Greatly respect reality’
Giulio Mancini, 1619
3. 1571 Born 29 Sept in Milan
1577 Father dies
1584 Apprenticeship with Simone Peterzano
until 1588
1592 Moved to Rome
1599 First public commission
1603 Litigated for defamation.
1605 Arrested for carrying a fire arm without a
permit, in a fight. Wounded a lawyer.
1606 Flees Rome for Naples following murder
1608 Stays in Malta and becomes a knight
1609 Returns to Naples badly wounded
1610 Dies of malaria on 18th July.
Caravaggio has a very short professional career
(less than 20 years). There are some 90 known
paintings by him today.
For simplicity, we can divide his professional life
3 periods :-
1 His Bacchus years as a budding artist.
2 His Prime years, when he won his first public
commission and started to paint large scale
canvases, as an professional artist.
3 His Fugitive years, after he killed a man and
running away from the law
Milestone in His Life
Paintings from 1596-7, 1600-1, 1606-7.
Bacchus
Years
1592-1599
Prime
Years
1599-1606
Fugitive
Years
1606-1610
4. Early Bacchus paintings
Early in his career, Caravaggio painted a serious of sensuous and erotically provocative homo-
eroticism paintings. These are his ‘Bacchus paintings’.
Bacchus Portraits
5. The Sick Bacchus (Self Portrait)
The Sick Bacchus (Detail. A self-portrait).
c1593. Galleria Borghese, Rome.
Caravaggio arrived in Rome in 1592.
One of the earliest Bacchus painting
was his self-portrait known as the ‘Sick
Bacchus’. He painted himself possibly
because he was not able to afford a
model. This is the first depiction of a
self portrait in which the painter was
the main subject of the painting.
6. Boy with a Basket of Fruit. c1594.
This painting contrasts the
youthful adult with the
over-ripe fruits and rotting
leaves. There is a hint of
melancholy in his eyes. The
basket of fruits was given
equal importance as the
portrait.
Boy with a Basket of Fruit
His early paintings usually
have a shallow background
with limited palette of earth
colours. He was known for
using models, instead of
conventional and idealized
characters.
8. Bacchus, 1596.
The Young Bacchus
Caravaggio painted a shaking
hand with ripples on the wine.
The laurel in the Sick Bacchus
became a crown of vine leaves.
9. Caravaggio was not the first to paint the
masculine beauty. Michelangelo spent all his life
depicting it, either in paint or in sculpture. The
origin of male nude dated back to the Ancient
Greek. What make Caravaggio’s ‘Bacchus
paintings’ particularly provocative were the age
of his subjects.
Ignudi. 1509. Michelangelo. Sistine Chpael
Some speculated that Caravaggio was a
homosexual, but there is no documented evidence
that he was. With his volatile personality one can
never be sure.
Some commentators suggested that Caravaggio
painted these paintings to satisfy a particular
taste. Cardinal Francesco Del Monte, his patron,
was indulged in a hedonistic lifestyle.
So Caravaggio might have painted these for
money or even for a cheeky amusement. After
Caravaggio first successful public commission,
when he became well known, he only painted a
couple of this type painting for the rest of his life.
Is Caravaggio a homosexual?
10. Caravaggio’s Still Life
Caravaggio was one of the first Italian still life painter. In his early paintings he often
include fruits. He also liked to have the basket of fruits delicately balanced on the edge
of the table, as if it is about to fall off the painting and into our space. On the odd
occasions he included other still life objects, like a jar of water or a jug of wine.
Details. The Supper at Emmaus. C1600-01. Details. Repentant Magdalene. C1596-97.
Still Life
12. This is a masterpiece of painting by Caravaggio. When he made this, nobody had seen anything like it
since the Roman some 1500 years ago. It sparked off a new beginning in still life painting. The painting
was full of details, marvellously painted with perfection. Yet the fruits were full of imperfections, insect
holes, predications, pest damages as the rots were setting in. He painted these fruits again and again, as
if he was telling us something about life, death, decays, temptations as well as beauty. Note also the
basket was balanced on a knife-edge, as if the basket in about to fall into our own space.
13. Vanitas
We often find an intrusive skull on Dutch still life painting, like the painting by Frans Hals (left). It is
known as a Vanitas, after the goddess of Truth. In Western art, it is a comment on the transient nature
of life, that all of us will died someday. Caravaggio’s basket of fruits was his Vanitas, reminding us of
our own mortality. Caravaggio was fiercely original and no other established artist did this since.
15. The First Public Commission
His first public commission was big. Caravaggio had never painted such large canvases before. It was
at a time when the Catholic church was facing the challenge from the protestant and responded with a
display of their the Catholic wealth, to make Rome the unrivalled capital of Christianity.
First Success
16. The Calling of St Matthew. 1599-1600.
The Calling of St Matthew
17. Having the his first public commission was an
important turning point for Caravaggio. It
marked the successful transformation of
Caravaggio as an established religious painter.
Prior to this period, Caravaggio experienced
poverty and struggled to make a living in
Rome. He nearly died, from the plague. He
had convalesced to the nuns’ care. The
experience marked him forever. The exact time
is uncertain. It was either during 1593 to 1595
or during 1598. 1598 is more likely.
In taking on the commission, he had
considerable problems to fulfil the contract,
mainly due to his fiercely realistic approach to
religious subjects. He had to modify and to
repaint some of the paintings, several times.
Yet like this extraordinary realistic depiction of
the aging old man (the identity St Mathew in
the painting is ambiguous) with his spectacles,
without any glamour or grandiose,
Caravaggio did what no one did before.
The Calling of St Matthew
19. The Inspiration of St Matthew
The original work was rejected on the grounds of
indecurum, because Caravaggio had painted the
Saint’s dirty foot sticking out of the painting at eye
level. The painting was replaced by a different
version of the painting.
In these painting, Caravaggio had formally adopted
his technique of chiaroscuro – light-dark.
A recoloured first version of the painting from a black and white
photo. The painting was destroy in WW 2.
21. The Martyrdom of St Matthew
Self Portrait, The Martyrdom of St Matthew . Detail.
On the Martyrdom of St Matthew,
Caravaggio painted the moment of his
martyrdom. St Matthew was linked to the
naked executioner through the arm that
grasps him. St Matthew also raised his hand
to defend himself and also a palm frond
offered to him by an angel. Other characters
arranged in a circle, were in dismay.
St Matthew, The Martyrdom of St Matthew.
22. Caravaggio was obsessed about beheading. He painted a series of paintings on the subjects, reflecting
his nature of a violent man. In later paintings, he used his own beheaded head to substitute for the
victim’s head, as if he was say “here is my head, come and get it”.
His Beheading paintings
Beheading
24. Versions of Judith Beheading Holofernes
Caravaggio 1598-1602.
The lacking of a more precise dating (either before or after
Caravaggio first public commission) and the history of the
painting, make it more difficult to understand the
circumstances when Caravaggio painted the work.
Caravaggio had chosen the most horrific moment of
partial decapitation. Judith was shown with mixed
emotion of determination and repulsion. This painting is
the first of a series of painting on decapitation. However,
the painting does add to our understanding to the violent
nature of Caravaggio, the man, with numerous criminal
records of violence.
Disputed Caravaggio c1607
Artemisia c1614-20
The second painting is hotly disputed
as a Caravaggio’s painting (left) on
the same subject found in an attic in
2014, Toulouse, France.
The Artemisia version (right) was
painted in 1614-20 by the daughter of
Caravaggio’s friend Orazio Gentileschi.
I think her version is much more
believable. Artemisia was greatly
affected by Caravaggio’s painting. She
painted herself as Judith and her rapist
Agostino Tassi as Holofernes.
25. David with the Head of
Goliath. c1605 or 1610 .
David and Goliath
Did Caravaggio offer his head for
exchange of pardon?
26. Portraits
It was suggested that Caravaggio always used models for his portraits. In his early career, he used
himself and friends to pose for him, like his girlfriend Fillide Melandroni (above). But it was the realism
of his saints that distinguishes Caravaggio from other painters, in breaking with traditions.
31. The Supper at Emmaus
The Supper at Emmaus. c1601. National Gallery, London
32. Supper at Emmaus. 1601. Caravaggio. National Gallery. London.
The Bible tells the story of two apostles meeting a stranger on their way
to the village of Emmaus. They talked about Jesus’ Crucifixion and his
body’s disappearance from his tomb.
At dinner, the stranger blessed and broke the bread, prompting the
apostles to recognize that the stranger was Jesus. He then vanished from
their sight.
On the left of the painting was
probably Cleophas, one of the
apostles. On the opposite was
Peter, who wore a sea shell to
show he was a pilgrim. The
innkeeper was depicted standing
beside Jesus.
Why did the apostles not
recognise Jesus?
Supper at Emmaus 1601
33. In the age of oil-lamps and flickering candles, the
painting’s dark background can easily blend into its
surroundings, creating an illusion of reality.
Supper at Emmaus 1601
34. Jesus was depicted as a young beardless man with a
feminine look wearing a bright red gown, different from
the traditional images of Christ. Perhaps it was the
changed appearance of a resurrected Jesus that his
apostles did not immediately recognise him?
The Innkeeper, with a scarf on his head, was looking at
Jesus, emotionless. Why did Caravaggio include him? Was
he there to represent the non-believers? Or did he see
Jesus as just another man?
Peter (presumed) with
foreshortening arms penetrating
into the observer’s space.
Cleophas, wearing a rag, with
arms supporting himself.
A solemn Jesus with an unimpressed innkeeper. The
innkeeper’s shadow conveniently casting a halo above
Jesus.
The apostles were clothed like labourers and
not in robes. Cleophas’ coat had a hole at the
elbow, which protruded from the painting. He
was shown pushing himself up at the moment
Jesus revealed his true identity, by blessing the
bread.
Peter, with his crooked nose and untidy hair,
threw his foreshortened arms in a gesture of
utter astonishment, echoing the Crucifixion. His
arm stuck out from the painting, his right hand
looked ‘out of focus’ and slightly larger than his
left.
Supper at Emmaus – the people
35. Caravaggio could only have copied the fruits in autumn, even though
the Resurrection occurred around Easter. He was originally trained as a
still-life painter and took the subject seriously, declaring that ‘it took as
much skill to paint a good picture of flowers as of figures’.
On the table there were bread, water and wine, a roasted chicken and a
wicker basket full of over-ripe fruits, painted to the smallest detail –
lesions, fungal spots and worm holes. The rotting fruits symbolized
death, decay and the transient nature of life. Pomegranate was used
as a metaphor for the crown of thorns and the apples & the figs
represent man’s original sin. The wilting vine leaves and grapes related
to red wine; the blood of Christ.
What sort of light illuminates the
painting? The most likely
explanation is that the painting
must been painted in a cellar with
a small window with a strong
beam of sunlight. The basket
teetering on the edge of the
table. Some say it creates
tension. Others, suggest it
creates an illusion effect of the
basket falling out of the painting. I
think, an apostles had shifted the
table accidentally, in the
confusion of recognising the
resurrected Jesus
Supper at Emmaus – the table
37. Supper of Emmaus. 1606. Oil. Caravaggio. Pinacoteca di Brera. Milan
This work of the same event was
painted by Caravaggio, whilst he
was on the run, after he had
committed murder. It was five to six
years after the original and included
an extra person, a maid.
Far more subdued, with figures
emerging into the light, a limited
palette was used with no bright
colours. His later paintings all
shared this quality.
This image of Christ was more traditional. The expressions of the subjects were more sober, their
gestures restrained and less theatrical. The table is comparatively bare including bread, a bowl, a
plate and a jug. The basket of fruits is gone. The subjects are older, their youthfulness disappeared.
A transformation from a rich, colourful and dramatic depiction to a darker and more ‘mundane’
vision of the same event. Does this reflect the state of Caravaggio’s mind while on the run?
Supper at Emmaus 1606
38. Supper of Emmaus. 1606. Pinacoteca di Brera. Milan
Supper at Emmaus 1606
44. The Martyrdom of St Ursula
The Martyrdom of St Ursula, 1610.
St Ursula refused to marry a pagan Hun, who fired an arrow at her, at point blank. This was
Caravaggio’s last painting.
45. Caravaggio, the man
Michelangelo Merisi, commonly known as Caravaggio,
was very influential in the history of painting.
Born in Milan c1571, he served his art apprenticeship.
He then moved to Rome in search of work between
1588-1590.
His life was unruly, dramatic and violent. Constantly in
trouble with the police for street brawls, he committed
a murder in 1606 which forced him to be on the run,
for the rest of his life.
Caravaggio fled to Naples, then to Malta (1607)
where he was knighted by the Order of St. John. After
assaulting a justiciary, he was imprisoned.
Subsequently he escaped to Sicily and went to Naples
in 1609 where his enemies finally caught up with him.
The following year he travelled by boat to Porto
Ercole (nr. Rome), where he was arrested by mistake
and released. He contracted a fever here and died on
the 18 July 1610, age 38.
The severed head of Goliath, painted
in 1609-10, is probably a self-portrait.
Shown offering his own head, like a
hunted creature, wanted by the
authorities and enemies alike.
46. The Technique & Styles
The single most important hallmark of Caravaggio’s
painting styles is a dark, often shallow background,
with the use of limited earth colours. Mostly
illuminated by a single strong light source, diagonally,
creating a stark contrast between brightness and
blackness (chiaroscuro).
He painted with a vivid and uncompromising sense
of realism, exemplified by dirty feet, rotting fruits,
shabby, ageing saints and the use of coarse peasant
type in contemporary clothing. His paintings are
overwhelmed with the truthfulness of seeing and all
the subtleness of humanity; its highs and its lows.
Caravaggio liked to shock, using provocative,
dramatic and violent images - bold gestures,
deliberate brutality, severed heads, streams of blood,
probing wound. He challenged accepted
conventions and in his painting, The Death of the
Virgin, he used a prostitute (allegedly his girlfriend
Lena) as model for the Madonna.
The Death of the Virgin (Detail). 1606. Oil on canvas.
Musee du Louvre, Paris. The painting was rejected by the
church, as it was rumoured that Caravaggio’s model was
‘a dirty whore from the Ortaccio’. Many of his works
offended religious sensibilities.
Judith Beheading
Holofernes (Detail) 1598-9.
The Doubting Thomas
(Detail). c1603. Potsdam.
Caravaggio reacted against the falsehood of
mannerism and created realism.
47. Caravaggio establishes the notion of the
rebellious artist, an anti-establishment
figure commentating on society,
challenging our preconceived ideas with a
fiercely unique style, like the coarse peasant
type apostle.
With his passionate belief in the individual
and his uncompromising realism.
Caravaggio remains an extraordinary
painter with an equally controversial life;
violent by nature and a known killer.
Artist as a Rebel
Portrait of Caravaggio (Detail) by Ottavio Leoni.
With his basket of rotten fruits, swollen
corpse and aging Madonna, he had left us
unique images as his testaments to his
originality.
49. His Famous Followers
It is almost impossible to overestimate the influence of
Caravaggio. He was widely admired and an extremely
influential painter of 17th century.
Among his followers were Orazio Gentileschi (Italian),
Artemisia Gentileschi (daughter), Velazquez (Spanish),
Murillo (Spanish), La Tour (French), Rubens (Belgium) and
Rembrandt (Dutch).
La Tour – Card Players Rembrandt – Anatomy Lecture
Valazquez – Egg Fryer
Is a film like Pretty Baby, in which Brooke Shields plays a 12 year old prostitute directed by Louis Malle, part of the Caravaggio tradition?
50. Music – Beethoven. Violin No in G Minor :
II Adagio.
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End
1571 - 1610
Caravaggio on the 100,000 lira bank note