Our latest event:

A fascinating introduction to the life and work of CARAVAGGIO with Art Historian Paul Shakeshaft.

Monday 27th April 2009 

We are indebted to Paul Shakeshaft for an excellent lecture on Caravaggio.

We were looking at Caravaggio’s work in the context of assuaging guilt; the painter’s criminal record rivalled his work for fame. Part of a gang that roamed the city, associating with the street people that populate his work, his career in Rome (1600-1606) culminated in a brawl stabbing that left him a fugitive for the rest of his life.

It was Caravaggio’s gifts as a painter that granted him safe passage. A series of wealthy patrons protected and supported him. We were particularly considering if there was any substantial change – any kind of personal penance or particular remorse – shown in his paintings after he had committed the murder in Rome.

As Paul explained, determining from the works whether Caravaggio truly understood or accepted forgiveness is difficult. But Caravaggio often painted himself into paintings as a curious bystander, which suggests that he was personally engaged with the subjects he was painting. There are similarities in the later works that suggest a change in mindset after the murder. His style becomes more emotive, he paints the subject of the death more frequently, and homes in on the moment immediately after death when the realisation of what has happened sinks in. He died of a fever in 1610, just before receiving a pardon from the Pope, underlining the complex relationship between forgiveness and power that was a hallmark of the age.

Annie Simmonds