Our Rome Tour - Walking amongst Caravaggio works

Walking amongst Caravaggio works

	S. Luigi dei Francesi – Saint Agostino - Santa Maria del Popolo – Doria Pamphili Gallery
	The paintings of a man who had a very intense life, able to put all that intensity in his works. In the heart of Rome, some of his most interesting pictures

Caravaggio was undoubtedly a genius, and one of the foremost Italian painters of early 17th century . He was considered a somewhat cursed figure due to his mercurial, fiery temperament. Yet it was Caravaggio who revitalized art with his dramatic use of light, chiaroscuro, and the brutal realism of his images.

Caravaggio arrived in Rome, when the city was a hubbub of artistic activity, which was dominated by the Baroque style. Art patronage was in the hands of cardinals and patricians. Indeed, Pope Paul V (a member of the Borghese family) was himself a generous patron of art. When Caravaggio was 35 years old, he killed a man and was forced to flee Rome. He made his way to Malta, Sicily and Naples, bringing with him his revolutionary style.

Caravaggio died on his way back to Rome as he awaited the Pope's pardon. He was just 39 years old. The first Caravaggio work for a church are the scenes from St. Mathew's Gospel for the church of S. Luigi dei Francesi and the "Madonna of Loreto" for the nearby church of Saint Agostino. Around 1600, Caravaggio worked on another church, Santa Maria del Popolo, where he painted the "Conversion of Saint Paul" and the "Martyrdom of Saint Peter". Caravaggio was often forced to repaint pictures several times over because his strong realism was considered obscene.

Our encounter with this great artist takes us to the Doria Pamphili Gallery, where we can admire the mystical "Mary Magdalene" and the Incredible beauty of the Angel and the Holy Family in the "Rest on the flight into egypt".

Other works by Caravaggio can be found in the Vatican's Paintings Gallery, the Borghese Gallery and the Barberini Palace collection.