Some critics consider The Death of Germanicus (painted in 1627, in France, hanging in the The Minneapolis Institute of Arts), Nicolas Poussin’s early masterpiece. The painting presents a linear, barelief-like scene with several emotional pivots, all induced by the death of the Roman general (read full Britannica article on Germanicus Julius Caesar). Lying on the [...]
Caravaggio‘s Entombment (Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City) presents a symbiosis between an emotionally strung theme and a monolithic, balanced composition. Suffering is elevated to an aesthetically pleasing – and hence tragic – conception that flows from a congregation of actors, a single block reminiscent of a bas-relief (Caravaggio was known for his propensity to emulate sculpture). [...]
This painting (hanging in Uffizi Gallery, Florence; read the Wikipedia article of Caravaggio’s Sacrifice of Isaac) disturbs and stirs the viewer with the gestures of the actors — as if they themselves literally hold on to us, shaking us from apathy or calm. This psychological effect is not accidental: the depicted theme is one of [...]
This painting (hanging in Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, USA) follows The Fortune Teller in depicting a scene of sharp practice which very well might have been based in reality. This Wikipedia article on The Cardsharps mentions realism (the unglamorous theme, the ragged gloves, the dramatic tension) as the quality that made Caravaggio [...]
Perhaps too much stress has been put into sexual interpretations of this early painting (exists in two versions, one hangs in National Gallery in London (Boy Bitten by a Lizard), the other in La Collezione di Roberto Longhi in Florence) by Caravaggio (Wikipedia Article on Boy Bitten by a Lizard, and Caravaggio Wikipedia Article). There [...]
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