Tag Archives: Life of Caravaggio

L’ultimo Caravaggio

18 Saturday Jul 2020

Posted by in Art, Art history, Roma

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Martirio di Sant'Orsola Caravaggio's last painting410 years ago today, Caravaggio died in a tavern in Porto Ercole. This is about his last painting and the time I went to see the WRONG Caravaggio. I rarely use the words wrong and Caravaggio in the same sentence, but in this case it works.

A few years ago, I had an extremely Caravaggio’d out day in Roma.  After my visit to Galleria Borghese, I stopped in to see more Caravaggio works at Santa Maria del Popolo, then met a friend at Sant’Agostino to see the Madonna dei Pellegrini. Whew!  I ended up in a Caravaggio Coma and had the best day ever!

When my friend Romano heard I was going to Sant’Agostino, he immediately offered to meet me there.  I remember thinking this was odd, since I knew he had a full day.  As soon as we approached the painting, and he said ‘Questo è il collo più sensuale nella storia dell’arte /This is the most sensuous neck in the history of art’, I realized he was a fellow Caravaggio nerd.  This was, in fact his favourite painting.  Afterwards, we went to have caffè freddo and talked about Caravaggio for an hour!

Romano had recently been to Napoli and told me about a Caravaggio painting in a former church owned by a bank.  The bank bought the building and it came with the Caravaggio!  Whaaaaat!  I knew I had to see this Caravaggio if I was ever in Napoli.  The name or subject of the painting, and the name of the palazzo was not part of our discussion.

I usually fly home from Napoli, arriving in time to have caffè marocchino and a sflogliatella at the airport, then off I go.  2 days before my departure, I decided to arrive a day early, and spend 24 hours in Napoli.

One of the 4 things on my list to see that day was the painting Romano spoke about. I quickly googled ‘Caravaggio, Napoli, decomissioned church, bank’ and all results came to the painting ‘Sette Opere di Misericordia’/Seven Acts of Mercy’ located in Pio Monte della Misericordia.  All 4 of my ‘must see’ places were walking distance from Piazza Dante, and I booked a B&B appropriately called ‘Il Paradiso di Dante’.

Caravaggio Sette opere di misericordia Pio Monte della misericordiaI had heard of ‘Sette Opere di Misericordia’ but was not familiar with the location, where it has been hanging for over 400 years.  Pio Monte della Misericordia seemed to be a functioning church, so I suspected that something was off. I was not too concerned because it was earthshatteringly amazing, as you can tell by my happy photo.  I visited the 3 other places, ate lots of sfogliatelle and had an amazing day.  Read all about it in the post Un giorno a Napoli.

Returning to the B&B-and access to wifi- that evening, I looked it up again.  As I suspected, Pio Monte della Misericordia is a functioning church with an incredible history.  It turns out I went to see the WRONG Caravaggio!  If only all of my mistakes were this amazing!Pio Monte della MisericordiaThere are 3 Caravaggio works in Napoli.  The one Romano saw was Il Martirio di Sant’Orsola /The Martyrdom of St Orsola, Caravaggio’s last painting before his death, and only recently re attributed to him.  He may have even referred to it as ‘l’ultimo Caravaggio’, which would have been a helpful clue, but I did not remember that detail.Martirio di Sant'Orsola by Caravaggio in Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano

Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano was converted to a bank from 1898-1920 and now houses the Banca Intesa San Paolo Collection.  It was not far out of my way back to Piazza Dante, so I could have made it there if I had realized my mistake earlier.  Mannaggia!

The painting was commissioned by Marcantonio Doria, a young banker and collector from Genoa.  His stepdaughter was about to enter a religious order and take the name Suor Orsola (Sister Orsola).  Lanfranco Massa, the art agent in Napoli wrote to Doria on May 11, 1610 that the painting was finished but not yet completely dry, so he had put it out in the sun (bad idea!) and the varnish had gone a bit soft.  Massa also encouraged Doria to commission more Caravaggio works, as patrons were fighting over him and this was a good opportunity.

Caravaggio arrived in Napoli for the second time in October 1609.  Within days, his violent past caught up to him and he was brutally attacked by 4 armed men.  There were rumours he had been disfigured or killed.  His recovery was long, and he produced only 3 paintings during this time.  Sant’Orsola arrived in Genoa June 18, 1610.  Soon afterwards, Caravaggio set sail for Roma to finally receive a pardon for his murder conviction from Pope Paul V.  He died enroute in Porto Ercole on July 18th 1610 from a staph infection caused by the attack.Book cover L'ultimo Caravaggio, Martirio di Sant'Orsola

The subject of the painting, Orsola, and her 11 companions were captured by the Huns on the way back from a pilgrimage to Roma.  The companions were killed, but Attila the Hun was impressed by Orsola’s modesty and beauty.  She refused to marry him and he shot her with an arrow.  The painting captures the moment of action when the arrow strikes her. She is deathly pale as she looks down at the entry wound with a surprised expression, as if to say ‘Oh my….look…there is an arrow sticking out of my chest’.  The painting is looser and more impressionistic than usual, as if it was painted in a rush.  It is very dark, less chiaro, more scuro and does not have the divine light present in most Caravaggio works.  He was going through a difficult time, which is reflected in the darkness and mood of the painting.  One of the shocked bystanders behind Orsola is Caravaggio in his last selfie.

Caravaggio-Martirio-Sant-Orsola-2

The Doria estate eventually ended up in Napoli, bringing Sant’Orsola back home. In 1854, it was listed in the inventory of Giovanni Doria’s inheritance along with Palazzo Doria D’Angri. Caravaggio only signed one of his works. The Doria family owned this painting for 300 years-so long that over time the artist was forgotten. Oops!  Caravaggio’s influence and style defined painting in Napoli for several centuries.  During a 1963 exhibit in Napoli called ‘Caravaggio e Caravaggeschi’, Sant’Orsola was attributed to Mattia Preti (1613-1699), although several art historians believed it to be  Caravaggio’s work.  In 1973 Baronessa Avezzano sold it to Banca Intesa.

In 1980, in the Doria family archives, art historian Vincenzo Pacelli (1939-2014) found the letter from the agent which I mentioned earlier, confirming that Sant’Orsola was painted by Caravaggio. Finalmente!Martirio di Sant'Orsola Caravaggio's last painting

Palazzo Zavallos Stigliano is on Via Toledo 185, Napoli, not far from the Toledo Metro station.  Admission is €5. It is closed Mondays.  Hours Tu-F 10-18, Sat/Sun 10-20

Links: For more about the life and death of the Baroque Bad Boy – Caravaggio.

To recreate my Caravaggio coma day in Roma –Caffè con Caravaggio a Roma

I hope you found my convoluted story molto interessante!

Ciao, Cristina

Caravaggio

23 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in Art history, Roma

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Caravaggio is one of the most brilliant and influential painters that ever lived. He pioneered chiaroscuro-dramatic use of light on a dark background and went for the ‘shock’ factor, really testing the boundaries for his time.  His life was as dramatic as his paintings and he was always getting into trouble with the authorities, drinking, gambling, brawling, sword fighting.  I have a few Caravaggio centered posts planned, so I will start with one about the Baroque bad-boy himself.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) was born and studied in Milano. His family was from the town of Caravaggio.  He fled to Roma at the age of 21 after wounding an officer in a fight.  He found employment in the studio of Cavaliere D’Arpino, the Pope’s painter, and spent all his time painting ‘fiori e frutta’.  There is record of him being in hospital for 6 months early on in his time in Roma.  One of his earliest paintings is a self-portrait called ‘Bacchino Malato’ -Young Sick Bacchus.  His pale, yellowish complexion and bluish gray lips do not look healthy. He may have had malaria.  Caravaggio then went to work on his own and quickly developed a name as an artist, earning commissions from wealthy patrons.

Bacchino Malato (1593)

Caravaggio’s work was powerful and dramatic. Unlike other artists of the time, he worked directly from life onto the canvas without any working sketches.  Caravaggio worked quickly and produced a lot of work in his 14 years in Roma. Besides his use of light, dark and shadow, he also came up with dramatic compositions and intense realism…sometimes too intense.  He usually chose to paint the realism of the moment-the exact moment the action is happening. He showed life how it was, but his realism was often seen as graphic, vulgar and shocking.  He pushed boundaries and made people uncomfortable. Caravaggio used live models most of whom he found on the street, including 2 well-known prostitutes. He was frequently disputing with clients who refused to pay or insisted he redo a painting.

100,000 Lire Caravaggio banknote with his works ‘Buona Ventura’ on the front and ‘Canestra di frutta’ on the back

Caravaggio was always getting into trouble, but his name and wealthy clients protected him. In 1606, during a late night street brawl at a tennis court, he killed Ranuccio Tomassoni in a dispute over a prostitute.  Even having big-time patrons like Cardinal Borghese could not save him this time. He fled Rome with a death sentence and a price on his head.  He arrived in Napoli, where his influence and style defined painting in the city for the next few centuries.

In 1607 he went to Malta, hoping that the patronage of the Grand Master of the Knights of St John would help him receive a pardon from the Pope. He was welcomed and produces a lot of incredible art there.  Caravaggio was even inducted as a knight, but in 1608 seriously wounded another knight in a brawl and was imprisoned.  He escaped, was expelled as a ‘foul and rotten member’ and fled to Sicilia where he had a friend.  His behaviour grew increasingly bizarre.  He destroyed paintings at the slightest criticism and slept in his clothes fully armed. Caravaggio returned to Napoli after 9 months, to wait until he could return to Roma to receive a pardon.  In 1609 his dangerous lifestyle cought up to him.  There was an attempt on his life in a violent brawl and his face was disfigured.  There were even rumours of his death.

Davide con la testa di Golia (1610) Galleria Borghese

In 1610 he sent one of his last paintings Davide con la testa di Golia –David with the head of Goliath to his former patron, Cardinal Borghese, hoping he could convince his uncle the Pope to issue a pardon.  Caravaggio painted his own portrait as the gory severed head of Goliath, in a plea for mercy.  Soon after, he got on a boat heading north and ended up on the coast of southern Tuscany waiting for his pardon for the murder.  The pardon came too late.  He died in a tavern in Porto Ercole of a fever, infection from his wounds and heat exhaustion.  There were rumours he was poisoned, but Caravaggio likely also had lead poisoning from the lead in his paints. The homicidal genius was only 38 years old.

Poste Italiane 1960 stamp commemorating the 350th anniversary of the death of Caravaggio

In 2010, 400 years after his death, scientists think they may have cracked this ‘cold case’.  They are 85% sure that bones found in the cemetery in Porto Ercole belong to Caravaggio.  DNA evidence shows the age, height and date of death match, and they also did DNA testing of some long time residents of the town of Caravaggio and found there was DNA similarity.  The suspected bones also contained high enough levels of lead to drive someone mad.  More recent dental evidence shows that the main cause of death for the owner of these bones was a Staph infection, likely from the Napoli swordfight.  Sounds convincing to me!  Ciao, Cristina

*Image-Ottavio Leoni ‘Ritratto di Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’ ca 1621. Biblioteca Marucellaria, Firenze.  Wikimedia Commons