What art means to us ordinary people is that it can expand our lives and extend our lives to places we can't reach. Today we will learn about an alternative master of art, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). The name is the same as michelangelo buonarroti (1475-1564), one of the three masters of the Italian Renaissance, who was also a master of art, but had a completely different life.
Statue of Caravaggio, Ottavio Leoni (1621)
Born in a small town near Milan, Caravaggio's father died of a plague when he was 5 years old, and caravaggio jr. has been roaming the streets of Milan ever since. Spend all day with gangsters, drunkards, prostitutes, and other people at the bottom of society. This also gave Caravaggio a very unusual personality among artists throughout history: impulsive, grumpy, and mischievous. It is such a small, but it shows an amazing talent for painting. Just as we now have an inexplicable fondness for a little hooligan who can draw, the friends who were mixed up with him at that time gave Caravaggio a tuition fee for learning to draw. Thus, in 1584, at the age of 13, Caravaggio began an apprenticeship with the Milanese painter Simon PietroZano. As he grew older, Caravaggio progressed in painting, but he also became more and more troubled. PeterZano saw that sooner or later something big would happen in this way, so he hurriedly sent this "plague god" away. In this way, Caravaggio ended his four-year career as a painter and left Pietrozano's studio.
Back on the streets, Caravaggio began his old life again. However, the thirst and restlessness of his heart for painting led him to Rome, the center of Western art at that time, in 1592, to work as an assistant to the painter Giuseppe Cesari. At that time, Rome gathered the most outstanding artists in the West, but none of them really belonged here. Because there is not only glorious art here, but also dirty streets, this place belongs to Caravaggio. Cesari took him to many places and met many masters and their works. The broadening of his horizons allowed Caravaggio to quickly grow into a very mature painter. His talent and skills also deeply impressed Cesari, who wanted to keep him around for a long time. However, after a violent clash with Cesarius's brother, he was kicked out again, as he had done last time.
This time on the streets is completely different from the last time. Soon, he attracted the attention of Cardman Francesco Maria del Monte with a painting called "The Old Man of Card Cheating".
Bishop Francesco Maria del Monte, Ottavio Leoni (1621)
The bisexual bishop invited Caravaggio, who was also bisexual, to live in his official residence and finance his painting career. As can be seen from caravaggio's first masterpiece, the bishop was also a first-class connoisseur.
On the far left of the picture is a young brother who does not understand the world, looking intently at the cards in his hand, thinking bitterly, not noticing that a ruse is playing out around him. The man in the back of the middle was leaning sideways to peek at the cards in his hand, and at the same time gestured to his accomplice sitting on the far right, telling him that there was still a "second king" in his hand. The opponent on the right pretends to be indifferent and leisurely puts his left hand on the table, and the right hand draws the card prepared in advance behind his back, while keeping his eyes on the opponent to prevent detection.
This is why Caravaggio is known as the master of drama in the world of painting. He captures this dramatic scene with a paintbrush and presents it to us. We who admire in front of the picture are unconsciously brought in. Do you want to scream and stop this conspiracy, or do you want to look at it coldly and wait to see a good scene where people who have been deceived or who have been caught are caught?
The Card Cheating Veteran, Michelangelo Merrisi da Caravaggio (1594)
During his time with the Bishop, probably because both of them were bisexual, Caravaggio created a large number of works of beautiful and feminine teenagers. Although in the 16th and 17th centuries, many painters painted beautiful teenagers, only Caravaggio was so persistent and full of love.
The Musician, Michelangelo Merrissi da Caravaggio (1595)
Bacchus, Michelangelo Merrisi da Caravaggio (1595)
The Boy Bitten by a Lizard, Michelangelo Merrissy da Caravaggio (1596)
Although Caravaggio at this time already had the strength to become a first-class painter, his works were relatively small formats. There was an unwritten rule in the art world at that time that if you hadn't painted a big painting, no matter how good your work was, it wouldn't really be recognized. Finally, with the help of the bishop, in 1599 Caravaggio was commissioned to paint the Kentariri Chapel of the Church of San Luigi di Francis and completed it in 1600, namely the Call of St. Matthew and the Mission of St. Matthew.
The Call of St. Matthew by Michelangelo Merrissi da Caravaggio (1599–1600)
The Fall of St. Matthew, Michelangelo Merrisi da Caravaggio (1599–1600)
The two paintings have several characteristics in common:
First, they are huge works, both of which are about 320cm*340cm in size, and both are religious paintings. With these two points, it has the premise of being recognized by the art circle at that time.
Second, both works continue the previous approach of The Card Cheater to depict biblical stories. The drama of the scene gives us the feeling that although the sacred biblical story is told, it is no longer as gorgeous and ethereal as the masters have depicted in the past, but a very real and real moment, as if it is happening all around us. Gombri described Caravaggio as follows: "He was a great artist like Giotto and Dürer before him, intending to witness those sacred events as if he were watching what was happening in a neighbor's house".
Let's take a closer look at The Call of St. Matthew. On the far right of the picture is Jesus. To add to the authenticity, Caravaggio hid most of Jesus' face and all parts of his body in the shadows or obscured it, and even the halo representing divinity on his head loomed. He raised his right finger to Matthew and said, "Follow me." This hand of Jesus is the hand of Michelangelo in the Book of Genesis, which imitates the three masters of the Renaissance, and it can be regarded as a tribute to his predecessors.
The Book of Genesis (partial) by Michelangelo Bonaroti (1508–1512)
The Calling of St. Matthew (Partial)
In front of Jesus is St. Peter, and to the left of St. Peter is a figure with his back to us. This man was probably surprised by the two people who suddenly broke in, propped his right hand on the seat to try to stand up, and his left hand subconsciously touched the sword around his waist. St. Peter, on the other hand, raised his right hand slightly, without a clear indication, as if to say to the young man next to him: Don't be nervous, we will tell the individual to leave. Here, St. Peter had messy short hair (this was the hairstyle of the working people at that time, and only those with status would have long hair), and his clothes were very casually draped, barefoot, holding a short stick in his hand, and he escaped the image of a poor people at the bottom who had traveled a long way. Caravaggio was the first to portray the saints in this way. In the past, artists painted saints at least "decent", gorgeous robes, smooth white skin, radiant expressions, etc., as if this was the only way to have divinity. Caravaggio felt that this was not true, that most of Jesus' disciples were the toiling masses at the bottom of the day, and that was what he had portrayed.
The two people on the far left of the picture look intently at the money on the table, noticing that someone had come in. In particular, the young man sitting in front of him who was paying taxes seemed to be very reluctant to let Matthew take the money, and he lowered his head deeply, his eyes fixed on the money in front of him, his left hand clutching the money bag close to his body, and the fingers of his right hand secretly pulled out several copper plates on the table from a pile of copper plates.
The second person on the left facing us was Matthew. When he heard Jesus' call, he was counting the copper coins on the table with his right hand, and his eyes widened, full of surprise and question. Although the left finger points to the person on the right, say to Jesus: Are you calling me or is you calling me? But the legs under the table were eagerly ready to stand up and follow Jesus away at any time.
Of course, on Matthew's left, Caravaggio still did not forget to paint a young, handsome, simple and beautiful teenager, and gave the strongest light to his face. His right arm rested leisurely on Matthew's body, and there was no expression on his face, as if he were out of the matter.
The painting "The Fall of St. Matthew" also very realistically restores Matthew's despair and helplessness in the face of death and the panic and panic of those around him. Caravaggio has been wandering the streets for many years, and must have been accustomed to violence and death, so that he could be so truly restored in his pen.
As soon as these two paintings were introduced, they immediately caused a sensation in Rome. More than half of the young artists throughout Rome gathered around Caravaggio to worship him as a god, and later established the "Caravaggio School".