Lecture on Baroque Art and Caravaggio

Caravaggio's Artistic Technique

• Tomb Placement: Figures placed as if already in the tomb.
• Bacchus Painting: Intermingles Christian subject matter with Greek/Roman mythology.
  • Bacchus, god of wine and luxury, depicted opulently.
  • Showcases Caravaggio's ability to paint a variety of objects with great detail.
  • Still lifes with exotic fruits and lifelike details (e.g., flies on fruit).
  • Demonstrates skill in painting complex details like rippling wine in a glass.

Caravaggio's Mastery of Perspective

• Saint Matthew and the Angel: Highlights foreshortened view and naturalistic depiction.
• Saint Peter Crucifixion: Uses foreshortened view and muscle structure.
• Calling of Saint Matthew: Combines biblical stories with contemporary settings.
  • Figures dressed in 17th-century attire.
  • Depicts Saint Matthew, a tax collector in a seedy bar, being called by Jesus.

Personal Anecdotes and Controversies

• Bar Fights and Murder: Caravaggio killed a man in a bar fight, fled Rome, and sought papal pardon.
  • Sent painting