The guilty pleasure of Caravaggio

Thanks to Rorate Caeli for today's post with a film all about The Taking of Christ by Caravaggio. It was a pleasure to watch, perhaps even a little self indulgent, and wonderful to learn more about both the artist and his work. The film got me to thinking about why I'm such a fan of this sixteenth century Italian painter and, more specifically, his art. Caravaggio's life was, at best, far from the Christian ideal but it was real and it was of it's time and it was what it was. From this God brought forth great pictures that help us to enter into the mystery of his passion. As the film notes, The Taking of Christ is a reflection of the first act of violence which began the passion of our Lord. The film was, as I say, a pleasure to watch and I encourage you to spend some time thinking about the passion of the Lord, perhaps even through the medium of art.

St Matthew and the Angel

Wow, since getting back I don't seem to have had a minute to sit down (though in truth I have been sat rather a lot) nor managed to completely catch up amidst all the rearranged schedules. Thus, there has been something of a hiatus in posting. Before popping off to pray and sleep I thought I'd share with you a little discovery from Rome.

Now you are not to become jealous, but one of the highlights was going to the Caravaggio exhibition at the Scuderie, about which you can read more here. It was worth the two hour queue to get in, trust me. Not least is seeing his Angelus in the flesh (that's the oil on canvas, obviously, not the actual Virgin Mary and said Angel).

The more astute amongst us will, however, have noticed that the picture above is not from the master himself. Rather it is Guido Reni, St Matthew and the Angel, which is housed in the Vatican Museums. This was my discovery! It was painted in 1640, thirty years after Caravaggio's untimely death. Again, this was a two hour wait to get into a museum, or more accurately described as a series of museums. The frustrating thing was the long queue and the hope to see the Deposition of Christ by Caravaggio. Sadly, when eventually we managed to get into the papal picture gallery there was a small notice explaining the work was on loan to an exhibition at the Scuderie. Clearly it is THE exhibition of the decade!

What comes around goes around.

Oh, and on a technical point, we managed to get to see (over the course of our delay) 35 of Caravaggio's works. When you realise that there are only 50 known works accredited to him in the world, I think you'll agree we did rather well all things considered.

Caravaggio-esque

Loving this version of Caravaggio's Doubting Thomas by John Granville Gregory called Still Doubting. It hangs, currently, in Bangor Cathedral, North Wales. You can find a quirky comment on Tim Parker's Blog, here, and even read a comment from the artist himself. Thank you Fr Mark, over on Vultus Christi, for this work.

Annunciation

Whilst it may be some time away, I wanted to share with you a new discovery. A friend alerted me to The Annunciation by Caravaggio. It's a confession to say that I'd not even heard of the work, so looked it up on wiki, good-old wiki. They have the following to say:

The Annunciation is an oil painting by the Italian master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, finished around 1608. It housed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy.

The painting has been considerably damaged and retouched, and what remains of Caravaggio's brushwork is the angel, who bears a resemblance to the figure in John the Baptist at the Fountain. The illusionistic treatment of the angel, floating on his cloud and seeming to protrude outside the picture plane, is more Baroque than is normal for Caravaggio, but the contrast between the energetic pose of the heavenly messenger and the receptive Mary is dramatically and psychologically effective. The loose brushwork is typical of Caravaggio's later period.

The painting was given by Henry II, Duke of Lorraine, to his primatial church in Nancy as the main altarpiece, and was perhaps acquired by one of the Duke's sons in the course of a visit to Malta in 1608.

Isn't it beautiful, though!

Conversion on the Way to Damascus

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.

Caravaggio, again...

This evening I read a great post from eastangliaseminarians, who have a blog, which you can follow.

They are writing about The Calling of St Matthew by Caravaggio. Interesting to see that they are now being taught about this in the first year of seminary. It may be my great age, but I don't recall anything quite so exciting whilst I was at Oscott. Perhaps age does indeed addle the mind.

It is a wonderful image, full of catechetical material. One of my favourite sessions, using the Evangelium program (which has it's own website now) for our RCIA group, whilst on placement a few years back, was the class using this very picture.

Go read all about the master's work here.

Caravaggio

I was very excited to read in my inbox, today, Elizabeth Lev's piece on zenit, here. She writes about one of my favourite pieces of art: Caravaggio's 'Taking of Christ'. It is on loan from the Jesuits and hangs at the National Gallery in Dublin. A must-see when visiting that fine city. Elizabeth retells the dramatic story of it's discovery after being lost for so long. The wonderful way she describes Caravaggio's marvelous use of art to portray the treachery of Judas on that fateful night long ago is very good. Do read the report in full, but here are a few snippets:

The work was painted by Caravaggio around 1601-3, the years when he lived in the home of his powerful patron Ciriaco Mattei. He had just completed his major religious commissions at Santa Maria del Popolo and San Luigi dei Francesi, unveiling his revolutionary technique of using light and shadow to enhance the drama of his sacred stories.

Caravaggio was still flaunting his extraordinary skill at still life painting, apparent in the metal armor of the soldiers, the rich blue wool of Christ’s robe and the opaque paper of the lantern. But the dazzling virtuosity of his brush pales before his narrative power.

From the right, three soldiers crowd roughly toward Christ, with a figure at the end holding aloft a lamp to illuminate the scene. The absolute center of the painting however, remains empty, heads and arms leaving a large gap at the very focal point of the work.

This brief caesura heightens the tension of the left-hand part of the work. Judas, his face distorted, leans toward Christ to bestow his kiss of betrayal. The contrast between Christ and Judas could not be greater. Cheek to cheek with Jesus, Judas thrusts himself forward, actively perpetrating this ultimate treachery. Christ on the other hand, with downcast eyes and hands still clasped in prayer, expresses both the profound sadness at Judas’ act as well as the acceptance of his passion. On the far left, St. John runs away, and his red robe, grasped by the soldier forms a scarlet curtain around Jesus and Judas.

Generally speaking...

Tomorrow, I start my parish placement as a Deacon. It is the second time I will be in the parish, having been there last summer, immediately following my ordination to the transitional diaconate. It will be interesting to observe the differences, both from my perspective as well as from the priest/parish, having now grown in confidence. I no longer feel nervous, all of the time, before mass, I feel more confident in leading prayers and, whilst I have always been assured in public speaking, feel able to hold my own in matters of faith. Let's see what unfolds over the coming month. The placement is designed to be the busiest in the parish/church year, including the end of Lent, Holy Week, the Triduum, and the first week of Easter. Then it is holidays again!

This evening, I read an interesting article from Thinking Faith, the online journal of the British Jesuits, by Helen Costigane SHCJ. Entitled, Why excommunication?, the author considers the history of excommunication and, rightly, begins: 'The remission of the excommunication has the same aim as that of the punishment: namely, to invite the four Bishops once more to return.’ Costigane conclude "Nevertheless, the removal of the penalty can in no way be seen as an endorsement of Richardson’s views, either on the Second Vatican Council or on the Holocaust." Most interesting!

And, finally, this evening I was also involved in a presentation with Craig regarding Caravaggio. Roger has developed a series of lectures/discussions concerning the interface of culture and faith and, as a student body, we have been invited to participate in any way we feel able. Craig and I, it seems, share a love of the great master. Enthused, therefore, we happily gave a brief talk on Caravaggio, and then enjoyed the socialising and discussion which followed. There were several interesting contributions. An interesting one to note is the hand of Peter below the hand of Christ in the calling of Matthew. You notice how it is almost, but not quite, the same as Christ's, which in turn is the same hand as that of God in the creation of man on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. A fascinating artist. Much tortured soul and much the greatest artist to have lived, IMHO.