As the title states, I love Caravaggio.
The Calling of Saint Matthew Caravaggio (c. 1599-1600)
This is a beautiful, and one of the more well-known, works of his genius.
Basically, through reading through some of Bellori's Lives of the Modern Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, I have come to an understanding that Caravaggio was more or less a douchebag of the late 16th-early 17th centuries. Even more reason to like him!
Everyone hated him, he hated them right back, he "wasn't pleasant to look at", and he was a fugitive his entire life. Bellori writes, "In a ball game, he had an argument with one of his young friends and they began to beat each other with the rackets. Finally, they resorted to arms, and Caravaggio killed the youth and was also wounded himself." Heh. Even his friends were his enemies.
Then he fled Rome to Zagorolo to Naples to Malta to Sicily back to Naples and then was pardoned and allowed to return to Rome. Arriving in Rome he was mistaken for someone else and arrested, but soon released. This fueled his anxiety and he ran around the beaches in the summer heat, exhausted himself, got a fever, and died.
The life of an artist.
But his life doesn't define why I admire him. I look more to his look on creating work. He disregarded the works of ancient masters like Raphael, because it was "unnatural". Instead he used a lot of natural elements. The color black, filth, and heavy shadows set him apart and also generated harsh criticism from his contemporaries.
But his work redefined the art of painting. Too bad he didn't live to see it.
Madonna of Loreto Caravaggio (c. 1604)
My favorite painting by Caravaggio. I love the dirt on the prayers feet, the humbleness, the dark setting, and the holiness of the Virgin and Child through their cleanliness in the filthy street. It's beautiful.
So that's just something I've been thinking about for the past week. Wanted to get it off my chest. Also, I need to practice if I'm going to go into art history.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, the sun is beginning to shine and spring is around the corner!
