Lecture Notes: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Basket of Fruit, 1599

 During Caravaggio’s time in Rome, biblical artworks were widespread amongst the community but had seemed out of reach. Caravaggio had been an extraordinary artist due to this as he brought elements of drama, action and realness that the viewers can closely relate to. Even when he was not creating religious works, he had done ‘academic’ works of still life which was unusual. 

Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist, 1609-10

 One technique that Caravaggio uses in his works is ‘Chiarosucro’ – use of contrast between the light and dark. By emphasising the dark, the lit objects and subjects immediately capture the viewer in the scene of the work, bringing focus  and volume to the subject. 

 However, his life has been full of scandals and violence. He actively took part on the life on the streets - drinking, fighting, sleeping with male and females, and gambling. These engagement has helped in his expression of drama in his works, painting bar fights and people on the street full of life. His lifestyle eventually made him a murderer, putting him on the run for the last years of his life. This instability reflects on his art as Caravaggio integrated himself into his work with fear and arrogance. 

Boy Bitten by a Lizard, 1594-5

 Several of his works are a form of self portrait. ‘Boy Bitten by a Lizard’ in specific is a reflection of himself and the society he was in, with close relation to the god of wine Bacchus (Dionysus in Greek). Both he and the community he was living in was full of pleasure and by drawing objects with specific meanings, he turned another portrait into a message. The lizard is an object seen in multiple works; the lizard was a ‘biblical snake’ in his time, symbolising the consequence of living in a life full of pleasure. Elements of fragility serves as the sign of impermanence of their life as well. Janusczak adds on to this analysis, saying that the lizard serves as man’s aversion to salvation, and he himself aware of how he takes onto negative cultures. He continues on to say that this awareness may be why many of his works also serve as a portrait of himself.

 In our lecture, we have discussed on how Caravaggio took inspiration from not the artworks and sculptures around him, which was the standard, but the environment and nature that he can see and experience. As mentioned above, to draw realistic street and bar scenes he had actively taken part in those settings, even causing problems with the authority. However, even when he was on the run from the authorities, he had drawn and this emotion reflects unto his works. He had unfortunately been killed before his return to Rome, where he would have been pardoned for his crimes.

 The controversy with Caravaggio has reminded me of Jackson Pollock, who had ‘murdered’ a person with drunk driving which also killed him. He may not have lived a life of vulgarity like Caravaggio, but he had a bad addiction to alcohol and experience with an abusive parent. As his alcoholism worsened from the increasing demands from collectors, his health worsened and his marriage started to fall apart. I feel like their life stories are quite similar however I find it interesting on how their art styles are very different from each other, with one focusing on realism and the other on abstraction.

Shimmering Substance, 1946

 Analysing the dramatic composition and lighting can help my work be more impactful to the viewers as it is a message that I want every viewer to see. As the viewers now also have short attention span and specific niches, it would be essential to make the work dramatic to immediately capture the attention.’’

References:

Jackson Pollock Biography (no date) Biography.com, A&E Television Network. Available at: https://www.biography.com/artist/jackson-pollock (Accessed: 10 January 2023)

Pollock, J. (1946) Shimmering Substance, MoMA [Online Image] Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/78376 (Accessed: 10 January 2023)

Merisi, M. (1599) Basket of Fruit, Italian Renaissance Art.com [Online Image] Available at: https://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Caravaggio.html#gallery%5BpageGallery%5D/0/ (Accessed: 10 January 2023)

Merisi, M. (1594-5) Boy bitten by a Lizard, The National Gallery [Online Image] Available at: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-boy-bitten-by-a-lizard (Accessed: 10 January 2023)

Merisi, M. (1609-10) Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist, The National Gallery [Online Image] Available at: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-salome-receives-the-head-of-john-the-baptist (Accessed: 10 January 2023)

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (no date) The National Gallery. Available at: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio (Accessed: 10 January 2023)