{"id":801,"date":"2013-03-07T06:41:44","date_gmt":"2013-03-07T05:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=801"},"modified":"2020-09-03T02:52:42","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T00:52:42","slug":"chasing-caravaggio-in-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/chasing-caravaggio-in-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"Chasing Caravaggio in Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer 2010. I arrived in Rome in the middle of a July heatwave. The parched air hung motionless at street level, smelling of ancient dust and modern pollution.\u00a0 After an hour of slithering through the sweaty bodies in Piazza Navona, I was desperate for a dark, cool refuge to hide from the relentless sun. I pulled the guidebook from my backpack and searched for an indoor attraction that might offer the needed relief.<\/p>\n

A quick glance at the map showed me that the church of San Luigi dei Francesi<\/a> was nearby and apparently worth a visit.\u00a0 Without reading further into the description, I set off in that direction.\"\"<\/p>\n

From the outside, it\u00a0didn’t\u00a0look like much, especially in Rome where your criteria for aesthetics becomes skewed to the extreme. As I entered the church, I spotted a small group of Japanese tourists crowded around a side chapel just left of the main altar. A spotlight shut off with a loud clunk as they all re-capped their camera lenses and shuffled away from the darkened corner.<\/p>\n

A moment later I walked up to the chapel by myself and drew a one Euro coin from my pocket.\u00a0 When I placed it into the slot, the spotlight came back on in a brilliant flash and I was overcome by what I saw: an angel, as real as the Japanese man who had just brushed my shoulder, dropping down from the sky and falling gracefully into this small space.\u00a0 Below him stood St. Matthew, looking as startled as I felt by the sudden appearance of this robed messenger.<\/p>\n

\"Caravaggio
The Inspiration of Saint Matthew<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is classic Caravaggio, the full realization of the chiaroscuro style: employing dramatic use of light and dark to create a hyper-condensed moment in time. \u00a0The whole scene floats over a black hole, where at any second it might be violently sucked in and just disappear forever.\u00a0 The periphery of the canvas is dark, but the two central characters are lit up as if a photograph had been snapped at the precise instant of a lightning strike.<\/p>\n

After we catch our breath we realize that Matthew is a man, not a saint.\u00a0 His feet are bare and dirty, his face tired and wrinkled, the veins popping out on his hands.\u00a0 For better or worse, Caravaggio championed this Baroque philosophy, showing real life in extreme contrasts. \u00a0But\u2026life as it truly was and not how we wished it to be.<\/p>\n

This put him at odds with many art critics and church officials of his time who preferred \u00a0biblical scenes of majestic splendor and pastoral perfection\u2014a style which had achieved its height during the Renaissance.\u00a0 Indeed, during this Baroque era of Italian painting in Rome, the two opposing camps were represented by Caravaggio on one side and his rival Annibale Carracci on the other.<\/p>\n

First Stop: Piazza del Popolo<\/h2>\n

To fully appreciate this contrast in styles, go to the church of Santa Maria del Popolo where you can view these two very different artists side by side. You can plainly see Michelangelo\u2019s influence in Carracci\u2019s work, using soft pastel colors, and lots of fat cherubs clinging to Mother Mary.\u00a0 Also notice the order and symmetry. Now look to the left at Caravaggio\u2019s \u201cThe Crucifixion of Saint Peter.\u201d It\u2019s difficult to believe that they were painted in the same year.<\/p>\n

[one_half_first]<\/p>\n

\"Caravaggio
Caravaggio’s “The Martyrdom of St. Peter”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

[\/one_half_first][one_half_last]<\/p>\n

\"Carracci's
Carracci’s “Assumption of the Virgin Mary”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

[\/one_half_last]<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re finished admiring the paintings, step outside and take in the piazza itself; a masterpiece of Baroque expression in its own right.\u00a0 It is imposing, grotesque, enormous, overstated, and impressive. This was the goal of the Counter Reformation; to awe, inspire and even frighten all those who might be tempted to stray from the One True Faith.\u00a0 The message was, \u201cYour life is small, pilgrim, but the lives of these angels and saints that inhabit our Holy City are grand.\u00a0 Take a knee.\u00a0 Humble yourself. \u00a0You\u2019re in the real<\/em> house of God now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imagine some peasant who had just traveled all the way from Spain or France on foot and arrived at the gates of Rome and the first thing they saw was this magnificent square.\u00a0 The feeble voice of Luther whispers, \u201cGod is everywhere\u2026in the forest, in the provincial towns, in your heart.\u201d But then you fix your gaze on Bernini\u2019s piazza or Caravaggio\u2019s painting and realize that only the true<\/em> God could inspire talent so immense; only the true<\/em> God has the capacity to communicate with such beauty and power. The words of Luther suddenly ring hollow and meaningless against this mighty spectacle: the city of Rome and all its miraculous treasures.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the Counter-Reformation. Mission accomplished, now pass the collection plate. (These artists didn’t work for free, after all.)<\/p>\n

Are you ready for more? Let\u2019s go!\u00a0 You can follow\u00a0with the map that\u00a0I’ve\u00a0created on Google Maps: \u00a0Caravaggio in Rome<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Second Stop: Sant’Agostino<\/h2>\n

Now we have arrived at The Church of Sant\u2019Agostino.\u00a0 Here we can admire the famous \u201cMadonna of Loreto.\u201d The subject of Caravaggio\u2019s painting could hardly be more simple and unassuming\u2014once again he uses real people encountering the divine to breathe life into his art.\u00a0 In fact, the model for Mother Mary is said to be one of the many prostitutes with whom the artist was intimately familiar (don\u2019t make me spell it out for you). If he was trying to provoke the moral watchdogs in Rome, once again he succeeded immensely.<\/p>\n

We can again clearly distinguish a departure in styles if we have a look at Carraccci\u2019s interpretation of this same scene (also in Rome, but not<\/em> in this particular church\u2014it\u2019s at Chiesa di Sant’Onofrio al Gianicolo).<\/p>\n

[one_half_first]<\/p>\n

\"Caravaggio
Caravaggio’s “Madonna di Loreto”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

[\/one_half_first][one_half_last]<\/p>\n

\"Caracci's
Caracci’s “Madonna di Loreto”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

[\/one_half_last]<\/p>\n

Indeed, Carracci portrayed the story of The Madonna of Loreto more literally, where we see the actual house of Mary\u2019s youth being transported like some magic carpet from Nazareth in Galilee to a\u00a0small village in Le Marche, Italy where it is said to have landed (intact, of course) after this mystical passage over oceans and continents.<\/p>\n

Ahem\u2014cough, cough<\/em>. Well, I think we can leave that one alone for now and move on\u2026<\/p>\n

Third Stop: San Luigi dei Francesi; Caravaggio’s backyard<\/h2>\n

From here, we only have to walk a short way back to where we\u00a0started this journey, at the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi. Besides the painting that I already mentioned (\u201cThe Inspiration of Matthew\u201d) we can see the two others that complete the Matthew cycle, \u201cThe Calling of St. Matthew,\u201d and \u201cThe Martyrdom of St. Matthew.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThe Calling\u201d is particularly notable for its use of the light; notice how Christ is almost invisible in the shadows, but his \u201clight\u201d shines brightly on the astonished face of Matthew.\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re done here, step outside, take a deep breath and let your eyes readjust. \u00a0Studying Caravaggio\u2019s paintings is a bit like looking at the sun:\u00a0 if you stare too long, your risk permanently altering your eyesight. \u00a0He makes you believe that the illusions are real.<\/p>\n

And by the way, the man himself lived right here in this neighborhood.\u00a0 In fact, in Palazzo Madama, practically across the street from where you\u2019re standing right now.\u00a0 If you want to know more about him and see some of his other works in Rome, consult my map again.\u00a0I’ve\u00a0also listed the museums where many of his famous paintings are on permanent display.<\/p>\n

Caravaggio in Rome<\/a><\/p>\n

I hope that\u00a0you’ve\u00a0enjoyed chasing Caravaggio in Rome with me. \u00a0Of course, there are many masterpieces by history’s greatest artists scattered throughout this incredible city. \u00a0But Caravaggio manages to stand out, even among this cast of all-star talent.\u00a0 In the words of one critic: \u201cThere was art before him and there was art after him\u2014and they were not<\/em> the same.”<\/p>\n

\u200bCARAVAGGIO<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u200bIn Sicily<\/p>\n

\u200bTowards the end of his life, Caravaggio spent some time in Sicily; painting feverishly as he ran from his enemies. It was some of his best work. \u200b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer 2010. I arrived in Rome in the middle of a July heatwave. The parched air hung motionless at street level, smelling of ancient dust and modern pollution.\u00a0 After an hour of slithering through the sweaty bodies in Piazza Navona, I was desperate for a dark, cool refuge to hide from the relentless sun. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,66],"tags":[112,117,115,111,15,113,79,14,114,116,25],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}