Brief introduction of Caravaggio's painting characteristics

Michelangelo Meris da Caravaggio (1September 29, 573-10/July 0 18), Italian painter, 1593 to 16 10 year. He is usually considered to belong to the Baroque School and has an important influence on the formation of the Baroque School.

Caravaggio's life is intoxicating, dangerous and full of mystery. /kloc-in 0/600, he suddenly appeared in the art circle of Rome, and he never lacked commission and funding, although he managed his success badly. The earliest comments on him were found in 1604. This material describes his lifestyle about three years ago, saying, "He can walk around the sword for a month or two after working for two weeks, and a servant follows him, always ready to fight from one court to another, so it is awkward to be with him. "1606, Caravaggio killed a young man in a battle, and people offered a reward for his head, so he fled Rome. 1608, he was involved in another struggle in Malta. 1609, in Naples, it was still a struggle. This time, maybe an unknown opponent tried to take his life. The next year, after more than ten years as a painter, Caravaggio died.

From the end of 16 to the beginning of 17, Rome has been building huge churches and magnificent palaces, which require a lot of paintings. At that time, the anti-religious reformist church was looking for orthodox religious art to counter the threat of Protestantism, because the stylism that had ruled the art world for nearly a century was not enough to undertake this important task. Caravaggio brought a radical naturalism, which combined almost physically accurate observation with vivid and even dramatic contrast between light and shade. In Caravaggio's hands, this new style is a tool to realize authenticity and spirituality.

Although Caravaggio was famous before his death, he was completely forgotten in the centuries after his death and was not rediscovered until the last decades of the 20th century. Although he influenced almost all artistic styles after D, it did have a profound influence on the emerging Baroque art. Andre Bain-Joffrey (the secretary of Paul Vallecci) commented: "Frankly speaking, Caravaggio's works mark the beginning of modern painting."

all one's life

Early life (157 1 year-1592)

Caravaggio is a small town about 30 kilometers away from Milan. Caravaggio's father fermo Merisi was the housekeeper and architect of Marquis Francisco sforza. Caravaggio's mother, lucia Anatoly, comes from a wealthy local family. Merisi's children (Michelangelo is the eldest son) are not listed in the baptism records of this town. They may all have been born in Milan, because Merisi lives in the Marquis House in Milan. 1576, Caravaggio's family moved to Caravaggio town to avoid the plague that ravaged Milan. The following year, Caravaggio's father died here. It is speculated that Caravaggio may have grown up in Caravaggio and spent his childhood in Milan. In Milan, it seems that Kabala Joe's family has contacts not only with the Forza family, but also with the prominent Colonna family. The marriage of Colonna family and Forza family played an important role in Caravaggio's later life.

From 65438 to 0584, Caravaggio began his four-year apprenticeship under Milan painter Simon Peter Zano, who is said to be a student of Titian. Caravaggio seems to have stayed in Milan and Caravaggio during his apprenticeship, but he may have been to Venice and seen the works of George and Titian, so he was later accused of imitating George. In fact, he is familiar with Milan's artistic treasures, including Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, and the local Lombardy art ... Lombardy's artistic style advocates "simplicity and pays attention to naturalistic details". Compared with the solemn Roman stylism, Lombardy art is closer to German naturalism.

Roman period (1592-1600)

1592, Caravaggio arrived in Rome. He was "naked, extremely poor ... homeless, short of food and clothing ... penniless." A few months later, he began to work as a gunman for Giuseppe Cesari (Pope Clemente VIII's favorite painter), painting flowers and fruits in a studio that looked like a factory building. Caravaggio's well-known works during this period include The Boy Peeling Fruits on a Small Scale (the earliest known painting), The Boy with a Fruit Basket and The Sick Young Bacchus, and a self-portrait he painted during his recovery from a serious illness. After his illness, Caravaggio was no longer employed in Cesare. All three works show physical accuracy (Caravaggio's realistic side), and he began to become famous. A professor of horticulture once analyzed that the fruit in the hand of a boy with a fruit basket can be used to determine the cultivated varieties. "There is obviously a burning spot caused by fungi on a large fig leaf, which is very similar to plant anthracnose." Coexisting with realism is the psychological aspect: holding a heavy basket, the boy is obviously a little bored, but at the same time he feels funny, so he obeys; His bare shoulders were treated very sexy by the painter, which is obviously how the painter feels about his model; But although the boy was friendly, he didn't respond to the painter's feelings.

1594 65438+ 10, Caravaggio decided to go his own way and left Cesare. His life reached the lowest point, but it was at this time that he formed very important friendships with several people, namely, the painter Prospero orsi, the architect Huo Norio Longji and the Sicilian artist Mario Miniti, aged 65,438+06. Orsi, who has gained a firm foothold in painting, introduced Caravaggio to influential collectors. Longji brought him desperately into the fighting world on the streets of Rome; Mini became his most frequent model and partner. Fortune teller is the first painting with more than one character, in which Mario is cheated by a gypsy woman. This theme is very novel in Rome and has had a great influence for more than a century. At that time, however, Caravaggio sold it for almost no money. "Old Card Liar" shows another unsophisticated boy falling into the trap of a card liar, which is more complicated psychologically and may be Caravaggio's first real masterpiece. Like fortune tellers, card scammers are very popular, with more than 50 copies. More importantly, it attracted the patronage of Cardinal grimaldi Delmonte. Grimaldi Delmonte is an important connoisseur in Rome. From then on, Caravaggio can share a room with Minity in Cardinal Madmar Palace.

Caravaggio has created many private indoor works for Delmonte and his rich circle of art lovers-musician, lute, Bacchus, the symbolic and realistic work "Boy Bitten by Lizard"-with Minity and more boys as models. These poetic, introverted and mysterious homosexual works are very close to the psychological realism that began a few years ago.

With the completion of Caravaggio's first religious painting, realism returned and extraordinary spirituality appeared. This is the repentant Mary Magdalene, depicting such a moment-Mary Magdalene is no longer a high-class prostitute, she sits on the ground crying, and jewels are scattered around. "It's not like a religious painting at all ... where is the guarantee of a girl sitting on a low wooden stool and drying her hair ... repentance ... pain ... atonement?" This is the simplicity of Lombardy style, not the drama of Roman style at that time. Caravaggio continued this style in several other works, such as Mary of Saint Catherine, Martha and Magdalene, Drops with Jude's head cut off by Holoforny, Sacrifice for Sacrifice, assisi San Francesco in a Happy State and Rest on the Way to Egypt. These works were exhibited in a limited circle, which increased Caravaggio's reputation among connoisseurs and peers. However, real prestige depends on the public sphere, so it is necessary to turn our attention to the church.

"The most famous painter in Rome" (1600-1606)

1599 Probably through the influence of Delmonte, Caravaggio got renovation contract from Cantarell Chapel in San Luigi Dufranc. This commission includes two works, The Martyrdom of St. Matthew and The Call of St. Matthew, which caused a sensation immediately after the completion of 1600. Caravaggio's enhanced contrast between light and shade makes the theme very dramatic, while the realism brought by accurate observation raises the emotional intensity to a new height. Now people call this intensified form of the law of confrontation between light and shade dark tonality, and its rise is attributed to Caravaggio. Caravaggio's contemporary painters hold two completely different views on this. Some people openly accuse him of various sensory defects, especially his insistence on sketching instead of painting. But most people welcomed him as the savior of art. "At that time, Roman painters were attracted by this novel painting style, especially young painters gathered around Caravaggio, praising him as a unique natural imitator and treating his works as miracles."

Caravaggio also created a series of religious works, which were characterized by violent struggles, strange beheadings, torture and death. Usually, every new work will enhance his reputation, but several of them have been rejected by the ordering team and must be repainted or found another buyer. The crux of the matter is that while Caravaggio's strong sense of drama is appreciated, his realistic style is regarded as unacceptable vulgarity by some people. The first edition of "St. Matthew and Angels" painted the saint as a bald farmer with dirty legs, and an angel boy who was too close in a thin coat was taking care of him. The painting was rejected, so Caravaggio had to redraw The Inspiration of St Matthew. Similarly, The Conversion of Sao Paulo was rejected, and another novel with the same theme, The Conversion of Sao Paulo, was accepted. In this painting, the horse is more prominent than the saint himself, which angered an official of Santa Maria Delpopolo church: "Why do you draw the horse in the middle, but St. Paul is on the ground?" "I have my own reasons!" "Is that horse a god?" "No, but it stands in the light of God!"

Other works include the very touching Burying of Christ, Our Lady of loretto, Our Lady, El Nino and Saint Anne, and The Death of Our Lady. The story of Death of the Virgin can be used as an example to illustrate how Caravaggio treated some of his works in his time. 160 1 year, a rich judge commissioned Caravaggio to paint his private chapel, which is located in Santa Maria de la Scala, the church of the Order of Murrow in New California. On 1606, the order of Murrow, California rejected the painting. Giulio Mancini, a contemporary of Caravaggio, recorded that he was rejected because Caravaggio used a popular prostitute as a model for painting the Virgin. Another contemporary, Giovanni Baglione, told us that this is because the Virgin Mary is barefoot: neither situation is appropriate. However, John Gash, a scholar who studies Caravaggio, thinks that the Order of Gal Murrow may think that the problem lies more in theology than aesthetics. Caravaggio's version does not adhere to the doctrine of the ascension of the virgin Mary-the mother of God in the usual sense is not dead, but is taken to heaven. The substitute work (from Caravaggio's most talented follower Carlo Saraceni) shows that the Virgin did not die, but sat and waited for death, but even so it was rejected. In the final replacement painting, the virgin did not die, but flew to heaven with the chorus angel. In any case, rejection does not mean that Caravaggio and his followers are out of favor. At the suggestion of Rubens, The Death of the Virgin Mary was taken out of the back church and immediately bought by the Duke of mantua. Later, it was acquired by King Charles I of England, and 167 1 was collected by the French royal family.

A non-religious work in this period is "Cupid's Victory", painted in 1602, and the buyer is Vincenzo Giusti Anne in the circle of Del Montaigne. In a memoir in the early17th century, the model inside was called "Cheko", which was Francisco's nickname. The model may be Francisco Bonelli, who was regarded as an art activist from 16 10 to 1625 and was called "Secco del Caravaggio". The model holds a bow and arrow, trampling on scientific objects symbolizing war and artistic objects symbolizing peace. He is naked, and it is hard for people to accept that this grinning urchin is the Roman god Cupid-just like Caravaggio's Angel on Canvas, these half-naked teenagers carry their wings like stage props. The focus is on the strong and ambiguous reality of the work: Cupid is also Cheko, while the Virgin of Caravaggio is the mother of Christ, a high-class prostitute and a model in Rome.

Exile and death (1606-16 10)

Caravaggio leads a crazy life. Even in an era and place where disputes are common, he is notorious for repeated battles and defeats, and his safety records and interrogation records have been copied for several pages. 1606 On May 29th, perhaps by accident, he killed a young man named Ranuccio Tomasoni. In the past, patrons from the upper class solved his series of infidelity, but this time there was nothing they could do. Caravaggio fled to Naples because Naples was not under the jurisdiction of the Roman authorities. Under the protection of the Colonna family, the most famous painter in Rome became the most famous painter in Naples. His relationship with the Colonna family led to a series of important appointments of the church, including rosemary and the kind seven lines.

Despite his success in Naples, Caravaggio went to Malta a few months later, the headquarters of the Order of Malta. It is estimated that he hoped to be sheltered by the leader of the Order, Arov de Venekot, so that he could be pardoned for killing Tomasoni. De Venecourt liked this famous artist very much, made him the official painter of the Knights, and recruited him as a knight. Bellori, an early biographer, recorded that Caravaggio was very satisfied with his success. During his stay in Malta, his major works include the huge decapitation of St. John the Baptist (his only signature work), the portrait of Arov de Venekot and his attendants, and the portraits of other knight leaders. Nevertheless, he was arrested and imprisoned at the end of August 1608. For a long time, people have speculated about this sudden change, but recent research shows that it is the result of another struggle, in which the door of a house was destroyed and a knight was seriously injured. In June 5438+February, he was expelled from the cult as "an abominable degenerate member".

After only nine months in Sicily, Caravaggio returned to Naples. According to Caravaggio's earliest biographer, Caravaggio was hunted down by the enemy in Sicily, so he felt safest under the protection of the Colonna family. Unless he was pardoned by Pope Paul V, he could not return to Rome. In Naples, he painted Denying St. Peter, the last painting John the Baptist and the last painting The Martyrdom of St. Ursula. His style continues to develop. The martyrdom of Saint ursula depicts the most dynamic and dramatic scene-Attila's arrow hits her chest. Unlike previous paintings, this painting has no fixed pose models. This kind of painting is relatively free and impressive. If Caravaggio survives, something new will come out.

In Naples, a group of unknown people attacked him. At first, it was rumored in Rome that Caravaggio, the "most famous artist", was killed. Later, it was learned that he was still alive, but his face was badly injured. He painted Salome's head of John the Baptist, in which Caravaggio's own head was on a big plate, and the painting was sent to De Venecott to beg for forgiveness. Perhaps at the same time, he painted David with Goliath's head. In the painting, the young David looked at the giant's injured head with strange sadness, which was Caravaggio's head. He may give this painting to the cardinal's nephew, Scipione Bejas, who is an avid art lover and has the right of pardon.

16 10 In the summer, Caravaggio sailed north for pardon, which seems to be attributed to his powerful Roman friends. On this trip, he gave the last three paintings as gifts to Cardinal Scipione. There are different opinions about what happened next. The simple fact is that on July 28th, an anonymous private letter was sent from Rome to the residence of the Duke of urbino, saying Caravaggio was dead. Three days later, another private letter said that he had a fever and died. These are the earliest death briefings, and there are more detailed reports later. But the body was never found. A friend of Caravaggio's poet took July 18 as the anniversary of his death. Recently, a researcher claimed to have found an obituary, which showed that Caravaggio died of fever in the port of Elkole near Gross in Tuscany that day.