Posted on 07/05/2012 6:41:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Telegraph critic Mark Hudson wonders at the possible discovery of 100 Caravaggio works in Italy and says if confirmed it could throw fresh light on the artist's reputation
The prospect of a hundred newly discovered works by any great artist of the past is little short of astonishing. The entire oeuvres of several of great figures – Vermeer and Giorgione for example – barely gets into double figures. When you think that 200 works is a pretty respectable total for the average, world-changing old master, then the prospect of an extra hundred constitutes a massive increase, that is likely to significantly alter our view of them. The idea that there are suddenly 100 more Caravaggios in the world is frankly mind-blowing. Quite apart from his reputation as art's ultimate wild man – probable bisexual, almost certain murderer who died on the run from the Papal authorities – Caravaggio is one of art's few truly essential figures: the original dirty realist, who swept away decades of Mannerist frippery, introducing a stark new honesty and intensity. That signature harsh chiaroscuro – the highlighting of dramatic detail against darkness: how could we have had Rembrandt, Velasquez and most of the significant artists of the following century without it? Caravaggio wasn't the first artist to use prostitutes, street urchins and grimy-soled peasants as models, but he dragged them into the great stories of the Bible with unprecedented pathos and – all too frequently – violence. Anyone who has entered the dimness of Rome's church of San Luigi dei Francese, put a coin in the slot and seen Caravaggio's paintings of the life of St Matthew suddenly illuminated will have had perhaps the ultimate Caravaggio experience:
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I saw that one in my Italian half-brother’s workshop 19 years ago. He told me “Someday, I’m gonna be famous!”
Articles on this with more fact, less opinion:
https://news.google.com/news/story?q=Caravaggio&hl=en&safe=images&client=firefox-a&hs=rPe&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvnsuab&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1344&bih=620&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=dOBz_tDefFBrkLMGAgOk-I986kHDM&sa=X&ei=N0f2T_aMBI-a8gTjvOXQBg&ved=0CCwQqgIwAA
The guy may have been a wackjob, but at least he was a talented wackjob. Most of the so called great artists since the early 20th century are no talent wackjobs.
A article I was reading on the connection between creativity and anger mentioned that Caravaggio killed two men.
He was never one of my favorite artists - people to 'gray" - almost like they were bloodless.
Caravaggio had a reputation as quite an adept swordsman...though I don't believe he beheaded anyone.
ping
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Thanks nickcarraway. And btw, WOW! |
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Caravaggio? Isn’t he that guy who was going out with that mob guy’s sister until he got whacked?
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