MAJOR EXHIBITION OF CARAVAGGIO TO BE PRESENTED IN MILAN

VITTORIO SGARBI RETURNS TO MILAN TO PRESENT A MAJOR NEW EXHIBITION THAT ILLUSTRATES THE BIRTH OF THE GENIUS CARAVAGGIO. RECONSTRUCTING HIS ARTISTIC TRAINING, FROM SIMONE PETERZANO TO THE VENETO AND LOMBARD MASTERS, THIS FASCINATING SHOW EXAMINES THE PRECURSORS AND CONTEMPORARIES OF MICHELANGELO MERISI (1571-1610), HIGHLIGHTING THE WORKS THAT THE ARTIST WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE SEEN AND WHAT HE WOULD HAVE WITNESSED IN THE ARTISTIC CLIMATE THAT DOMINATED THE AREA FROM VENICE TO MILAN BEFORE HE MOVED TO ROME, WHICH ACCORDING TO THE MOST RECENT STUDIES WAS LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN AROUND 1595-96. CURATED BY VITTORIO SGARBI, THE EXHIBITION 'THE EYES OF CARAVAGGIO. HIS FORMATIVE YEARS BETWEEN VENICE AND MILAN' IS PRODUCED AND ORGANIZED BY ARTHEMISIA GROUP IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MUSEO DIOCESANO DI MILANO, PROMOTED BY REGIONE LOMBARDIA AND STAGED THANKS TO THE VITAL SUPPORT OF BANCO POPOLARE DI MILANO AND TERNA. THE EXHIBITION GATHERS AROUND SIXTY MASTERPIECES BY THE GREATEST PAINTERS OF THE DAY, WHICH ARE EXHIBITED IN THE MUSEO DIOCESANO FROM 11.MARCH TO 3.JULY. WORKS BY GIORGIONE, TITIAN, TINTORETTO, LORENZO LOTTO, JACOPO DA BASSANO, MORETTO DA BRESCIA, GIOVAN BATTISTA MORONI, GEROLAMO SAVOLDO, VINCENZO AND ANTONIO CAMPI, AND MANY MORE, SOME OF WHICH HAVE NEVER BEEN EXHIBITED BEFORE, DOCUMENT THE FORMATION OF A GROUNDBREAKING AESTHETIC AND AN INNOVATIVE CONCEPTION OF THE HUMAN FIGURE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH SPACE AND LIGHT, WHICH WAS FUNDAMENTAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNG MERISI. NATURALLY CARAVAGGIO HIMSELF COULD NOT BE LEFT OUT, AND THE EXHIBITION INCLUDES SOME EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT WORKS. ONE OF THESE IS THE SO-CALLED 'MURTOLA MEDUSA', THE FIRST VERSION IF THE FAMOUS SHIELD IN THE UFFIZI GALLERIES, WHICH TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE POET WHO WROTE A POEM ABOUT IT IN 1600. THE EXHIBITION ALSO INCLUDES TWO OTHER SEMINAL MASTERPIECES BY CARAVAGGIO: THE OUTSTANDING 'REST ON THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT', FROM THE DORIA PAMPHILJ COLLECTION IN ROME, AND 'THE FLAGELLATION OF CHRIST', IN ALL ITS HARROWING AND SENSUAL BEAUTY, FROM THE MUSEO DI CAPODIMONTE IN NAPLES, IN MILAN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1951. DIVIDED INTO SIX SECTION, THE EXHIBITION ILLUSTRATES THE ARTISTIC CONTEXT OF CARAVAGGIO's EARLY YEARS AS AN ARTIST.

SANT'IVO ALLA SAPIENZA CHAPEL PRESENTS STUNNING CARAVAGGIO EXHIBIT

ART LOVERS WILL GET RARE GLIMPSES OF CARAVAGGIO'S OFTEN VIOLENT LIFE IN AN EXHIBIT IN ROME AND COMBINING CENTURIES-OLD DOCUMENTS FROM ARCHIVES AS WELL AS PAINTINGS, INCLUDING A PORTRAIT LAST SEEN N PUBLIC 100 YEARS AGO. SANT'IVO ALLA SAPIENZA, A CHURCH WITH A COURTYARD DESIGNED BY BAROQUE ARTIST BORROMINI AND LATER HOME TO ITALY'S STATE ARCHIVES, HOSTS THE SHOW UNTIL 15.MAY. CURATORS TOLD REPORTERS AT A NEWS CONFERENCE THURSDAY THAT ONE DOCUMENT ON DISPLAY FEATURES A DRAWING DONE BY A JUDGE OF A SWORD AND DAGGER SEIZED FROM CARAVAGGIO, WHO WAS ARRESTED FOR CARRYING WEAPONS WITHOUT PROOF OF PERMIT. ALSO PLUCKED FROM THE ARCHIVES IS A DOCUMENT OF A LAWSUIT BY ANOTHER PAINTER AGAINST THE OFTEN ILL-TEMPERED CARAVAGGIO, WHO LIVED FROM 1573 UNTIL 1610. ON DISPLAY IS A PORTRAIT OF PAUL V, THE EARLY 17th CENTURY PONTIFF FROM THE BORGHESE NOBLE FAMILY IN ROME. THE POPE LIFTED A DEATH SENTENCE AGAINST CARAVAGGIO AFTER HE FLED ROME IN 1606 FOR KILLING A MAN IN A DUEL. THE PAINTING, ATTRIBUTED TO CARAVAGGIO, IS FROM THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF THE BORGHESE NOBLE FAMILY, AND WAS LAST SHOWN IN PUBLIC 100 YEARS AGO, IN FLORENCE. CURATORS SELECTED FOR THE EXHIBIT PAINTINGS BY ARTISTS WHO HAD AT SOME POINT BEEN MENTIONED BY CARAVAGGIO AND DESCRIBED BY HIM AS BEING AMONG THE 'BAD ONES AND GOOD ONES', SAID EUGENIO LO SARDO, HEAD OF THE ITALIAN STATE ARCHIVES. THAT MEANS VISITORS WILL 'BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE ARTISTIC TASTES OF CARAVAGGIO', WHO THUS BECOMES 'YOUR GUIDE TO THE EXHIBITION', LO SARDO TOLF AP TELEVISION NEWS. THE ARTIST IS CELEBRATED FOR INNOVATIVE USE OF 'CHIAROSCURO', A TECHNIQUE IN WHICH ILLUMINATED FIGURES DRAMATICALLY STAND OUT AGAINST DARK BACKGROUNDS.

REMBRANDT HOUSE MUSEUM PRESENTS CARAVAGGIO PAINTING

THE REMBRANDT HOUSE MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM, IS EXHIBITING AN ALMOST UNKNOWN PAINTING BY THE ITALIAN ARTIST CARAVAGGIO FROM 3.DECEMBER TO 13.FEBRUARY.2011. ST JOHN THE BAPTIST RECLINING COMES FROM A FOREIGN PRIVATE COLLECTION AND HAS INCREASINGLY BEEN ACCEPTED AS AN AUTHENTIC CARAVAGGIO BY EXPERTS SINCE ITS DISCOVERY IN 1976. THEY ALSO CONSIDER THE PAINTING TO BE THE VERY LAST WORK BY THE RENOWNED ITALIAN MASTER AND DATE IT TO 1610. THE WORK OF ART WILL BE SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE FIRST TIME EXACTLY FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AFTER IT WAS PAINTED. THE PAINTING WILL BE EXHIBITED IN AN ICONIC SPACE: REMBRANDT'S STUDIO. REMBRANDT IS OFTEN DESCRIBED AS CARAVAGGIO'S TRUE ARTISTIC HEIR. THE ARTISTS' POWERFUL DEPICTIONS OF STRONG EMOTIONS, DRAMATIC LIGHTING AND ASTONISHING REALISM SET THEM APART AS THE TWO GREAT GENIUSES OF BAROQUE PAINTING.

A NEW CARAVAGGIO PAINTING MAY HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED

THE VATICAN NEWSPAPER REPORTED RECENTLY THAT A NEW CARAVAGGIO PAINTING MAY HAVE BEEN FOUND IN ROME, BUT CAUTIONED THAT FURTHER ANALYSIS ARE REQUIRED BEFORE IT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED FOR CERTAIN TO THE ITALIAN MASTER. THE FRONT-PAGE STORY IN L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO CAME OUT AS ITALY CELEBRATES THE 400th ANNIVERSARY OF CARAVAGGIO'S DEATH. THIS WEEKEND, CHURCHES AND A GALLERY IN ROME HOUSING WORKS BY THE PAINTER STAYED OPEN OVERNIGHT TO MARK THE HISTORIC ANNIVERSARY. THE PAINTING IN QUESTION DEPICTS 'THE MARTYRDOM OF ST LAWRENCE' AND BELONGS TO THE JESUITS IN ROME, THE PAPER SAID. IT DID NOT SAY WHERE THE PAINTING WAS BEING STUDIED OR WHO WAS EXAMINING IT. AN IMAGE OF THE WORK PUBLISHED ABOVE THE HEADLINE 'A NEW CARAVAGGIO' SHOWS A SEMI-NAKED YOUNG MAN, HIS MOUTH OPEN IN DESPERATION, ONE ARM STRETCHED OUT AS HE LEANS OVER AMID FLAMES. IT IS UP TO FURTHER ANALYSIS AND AN IN-DEPTH DOCUMENTARY, STYLISTIC AND CRITICAL EXAMINATION TO PROVIDE US WITH ANSWERS', L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO SAID. CARAVAGGIO DIED IN THE TUSCAN COAST TOWN OF PORTA ERCOLE IN 1610 AT THE AGE OF 39. HE HAD BEEN HUGELY INFLUENTIAL AND FAMOUS, BUT HAD ALSO LED A DISSOLUTE LIFE OF STREET BRAWLS AND ALCOHOL. ITALY HAS BEEN MARKING THE ANNIVERSARY WITH A VARIETY OF EVENTS, AND AN EXHIBIT IN ROME EARLIER THIS YEAR DREW OVER HALF A MILLION VISITORS. IN ITS ARTICLE, L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO POINTED OUT THAT THE MARTYRDOM OF ST LAWRENCE PRESENTED FEATURES OF CARVAGGIO'S STYLE, SUCH AS THE USE OF CHIAROSCURO FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT AND UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE FROM THE SUBJECT IS SEEN. THE REPORT ALSO HIGHLIGHTED SIMILARITIES WITH OTHER CARAVAGGIO PAINTINGS, FOR EXAMPLE IN THE SAINT'S HAND OR BODY MOVEMENT. HOWEVER, THE NEWSPAPER ALSO NOTED THAT NO KNOWN DOCUMENT MENTIONS ST LAWRENCE AS A SUBJECT FOR CARAVAGGIO. MAURIZIO MARINI, A LEADING CARAVAGGIO SCHOLAR, CONCURRED THAT ST LAWRENCE, A MARTYR BURNED TO DEATH DURING ROMAN PERSECUTIONS IN 258, WAS NOT A KNOWN CARAVAGGIO SUBJECT. MARINI SAID STYLISTIC SIMILARITIES ARE INCONCLUSIVE AND HE EXPRESSED SKEPTICISM, SAYING THAT CLAIMS OF NEW CARAVAGGIOS OFTEN SURFACE BUT SELDOM HOLD UP.

THE TAKING OF CHRIST BY CARAVAGGIO RETURNS TO NATIONAL GALLERY OF IRELAND

THE TAKING OF CHRIST BY CARAVAGGIO HAS RETURNED TO PUBLIC VIEW IN THE BEIT WING OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN. THE PAINTING, WHICH IS PLACED ON INDEFINITE LOAN TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY FROM THE JESUIT COMMUNITY OF DUBLIN, WAS ON LOAN EARLIER THIS YEAR TO AN EXCEPTIONAL EXHIBITION AT THE SCUDERIE DEL QUIRINALE IN ROME CELEBRATING THE 400th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARTIST'S DEATH. THE EXHIBITION ATTRACTED OVER 500,000 VISITORS OVER A PERIOD FIVE MONTHS. THE GALLERY WISHES TO REMIND VISITORS THAT SOME ROOMS WILL BE SUBJECT TO CLOSURE THROUGH THE SUMMER PERIOD TO FACILITATE THE COMMENCEMENT OF RESTORATION TO THE ROOFS OF THE HISTORIC COMPLEX.
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DNA TESTS COULD SOLVE MYSTERY OF CARAVAGGIO'S DEATH

THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING THE DEATH OF BAROQUE MASTER CARAVAGGIO MAY SOON BE RESOLVED THANKS TO NEW DNA TESTS, AS LONGS AS THE RIGHT BODY CAN BE FOUND. WHAT CAUSED THE DEATH OF THE PAINTER IN 1610 AND THE WHEREABOUTS OF HIS CORPSE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN UNCLEAR. BUT A TEAM OF ITALIAN ANTHROPOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT WHAT IS LEFT OF CARAVAGGIO'S BODY MAY BE HIDDEN AMONG DOZENS OF BODIES BURIED IN A CRYPT IN TUSCANY, THANKS TO RECENT HISTORICAL CLUES. THE TEAM, ARMED WITH A CAT SCAN AND KITS FOR DATING CARBON, PLAN TO STUDY THE PAINTER'S EXHUMED REMAINS TO DISCOVER HOW HE DIED. 'IF WE ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND CARAVAGGIO'S SKULL, WE WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO SO A RECONSTRUCTION OF HIS FACE, JUST AS WE DID IN 2007 FOR DANTE ALIGHIERI', SILVANO VINCENTI, HEAD OF THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE, TOLD REUTERS. THE ONLY IMAGES OF THE ARTIST AVAILABLE UNTIL NOW HAVE BEEN VARIOUS SELF-PORTRAITS. SCHOLARS HAVE PUT FORWARD MANY THEORIES ABOUT CARAVAGGIO'S DEATH. THE MOST POPULAR ARE THAT THE PAINTER WAS ASSASSINATED FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS OR COLLAPSED WITH MALARIA ON A DESERTED TUSCAN BEACH.
HOWEVER, IN 2001 AN ITALIAN RESEARCHER CLAIMED TO HAVE FOUND THE PAINTER'S DEATH CERTIFICATE, WHICH ALLEGEDLY PROVED THAT HE DIED IN HOSPITAL. 'THIS HISTORICAL DOCUMENT SHOWS CARAVAGGIO DID NOT DIE ALONE ON THE BEACH BUT AFTER THREE DAYS IN HOSPITAL, WHICH MEANS THE BODY MUST HAVE BEEN BURIED IN THE SAN SEBASTIANO CEMETERY', SAID VINCETI, REFERRING TO A TUSCAN TOWN NEAR THE CITY OF ROSSETO. BUT IN 1956, BODIES BURIED AT THE TINY SAN SEBASTIANO GRAVEYARD WERE MOVED TO A NEARBY TOWN, PORTO ERCOLE, AND SCHOLARS HOPE THAT THE REMAINS OF CARAVAGGIO WILL BE AMONG THEM. THE TEAM, FROM THE DEPARTMENTS OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION AT THE UNIVERSITIES OF RAVENNA AND BOLOGNA, WILL HAVE TO EXHUME THE BONES OF BETWEEN 30 AND 40 PEOPLE, SELECTING THOSE THAT BELONG TO YOUNG MEN WHO DIED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 17th CENTURY.