Someone asked what I had bought for my birthday recently. Well, it was this. A copy, sadly, not the original. I recall when I went on pilgrimage to Rome and there were only two things I hoped to see (apart from the usual basilica visits) and that was the two Caravaggio's: Conversion on the Way to Damascus and Crucifixion of St Peter, both hanging in Santa Maria del Popolo. Well, at least I have a copy of the Conversion hanging on my own wall now!!
Perhaps I'll wait for the Holy Father to declare a Year of St Peter and then get the other one.
Perhaps I'll wait for the Holy Father to declare a Year of St Peter and then get the other one.
Happy Birthday Father, and many happy returns.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Thank you, Victor. That is very kind of you.
ReplyDeleteBirthday greetings from me too.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite Caravaggio is "The Deposition". When I saw it in the Vatican Museum for the first time (when I was visiting for the last Conclave) it stopped me in my tracks. There is something immediate about Caravaggio's work and something that reaches right out of the canvas, grabs you and doesn't let you go. I found myself practically transfixed by it, especially with the figure of the Virgin - lifelike, middle-aged, grieving. No other artwork has ever moved me to tears, but this one did, right in the middle of the museum with tourists blithely passing by...
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/x-Schede/PINs/PINs_Sala12_01_049_big.html - the photographic reproduction is awful (the rich and deep blues in the picture simply don't show up for some reason) but you can see - and zoom into - the detail I refer to.
Thanks, Tony, for your thoughts. I was interested to see you were in Rome 'for the last conclave'; were you electing? Seriously, I'm glad you're a fan of Caravaggio. When I'm next in Rome, perhaps I'll get the chance to see this one.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't electing (the chances of that ever happening are non-existant!) but I was in the crowd in the Piazza welcoming the new Pope... Once in a lifetime experience!
ReplyDelete