Portrait of Caravaggio by Ottavio Leoni
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, one of the most important and complex Baroque painters, revolutionized European painting with his stark naturalism and dramatic use of light and shadow. Notorious for his violent temper, culminating in exile after a fatal brawl, he was both criticized and admired in his time. Art historian Joseph Paul Cassar takes a close look at Caravaggio’s life and the stylistic innovations and thematic complexity that made his paintings both celebrated and controversial.
February 18 Caravaggio in Rome 1592–1606
Cassar discusses Caravaggio’s humble beginnings in the province of Bergamo in Lombardy, 25 miles east of Milan, from his apprenticeship with Ottavio Leoni until he moved to Rome in 1592 at the age of 21 without money and without having completed a single commission. This period produced some of his most famous works, marked by his revolutionary use of tenebrism and psychological realism.
February 25 Caravaggio’s First Church Commissions
In Rome, Caravaggio executes two important church commissions: San Luigi dei Francesi, with three paintings on the life and martyrdom of St. Matthew, and in Santa Maria del Popolo, where the subjects focus on the conversion of St. Paul and the martyrdom of St Peter. Cassar discusses these major works in detail, placing them in their respective historical backgrounds.
March 4 Caravaggio’s Masterpieces
Caravaggio produced several masterpieces in his short, prolific career and, in this session, Cassar provides a critique of some of these works, including The Sacrifice of Isaac, Supper at Emmaus, The Taking of Christ, Amor Vincit Omnia, St. John the Baptist (Youth With a Ram), and The Entombment of Christ, among others.
March 11 Caravaggio and the Knights of St John
After receiving a death sentence for murder in Rome, Caravaggio fled to Naples, then to Sicily, finally finding refuge in Malta. There he became the official painter of the Knights of St. John and produced several works, notably Saint Jerome Writing and The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, a monumental 12-by-17-foot canvas, which is both his largest work and the only painting he ever signed.
4 sessions
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