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Contents

Preface 6 Caravaggio’s Art 10 Formation and the Early Roman Period 20 The New Religious Style: The Major Public Commissions 76 The Years of Exile 144 The Fortunes of the Prints Based on Caravaggio’s Paintings 208 by Michela Gianfranceschi

Ottavio Leoni, Portrait of Caravaggio, 1620-25, Biblioteca Marucelliana, Florence

Contents

Ottavio Leoni, Portrait of Caravaggio, 1620-25, Biblioteca Marucelliana, Florence

Boy Bitten by a Lizard Mid-1590s Oil on canvas, 66 x 49.5 cm (26 x 191/2 in.) National Gallery, London

A young man, depicted while putting flowers in a bowl or taking

refers to the biblical concept of vanitas: both the cut flowers

fruit from a table in the foreground, is suddenly bitten by a lizard

and the depiction of the sudden pain that burst into the

that was hidden among the leaves. In this scene Caravaggio

everyday routine are to be interpreted as a sort of warning of

creates an intimate, everyday atmosphere with his scrupulous

the uncertainty and fragility of the human condition.

attention to details, as can be seen in the precise rendering of the

There are several versions of this composition, two of

boy’s grimace, which expresses both the pain and the surprise

which—this one in the National Gallery and the other in the

triggered by this unexpected incident.

Fondazione Longhi in Florence—are considered autograph

The original composition is mentioned in the sources of that

by most art historians. Both are part of the famous group of

time, both by the chief papal physician, author, and art collector

Caravaggio’s “doubles”—that is, works known in more than one

Giulio Mancini, who dates it to the time when Caravaggio was

version, which in many cases are nothing more or less than

living in the residence of Monsignor Pandolfo Pucci, and by

enigmas for art historians, given the number of imitators and

Giovanni Baglione, who places the composition in the period

excellent copyists of the Lombard artist in past centuries.

immediately after the artist’s activity in the atelier of Cavalier d’Arpino. As in the case of other works painted in this period, Caravaggio effects a synthesis of pictorial genres considered minor, such as portraiture and still life, and goes on to pay special attention to the study of human emotions, which he manifests in an incredibly realistic fashion in the intense expression of the youth. This may be the first painting in which he reveals almost virtuosic talent in rendering instinctive reactions and gestures that thus become the very subjects of the painting. The pose of the young man with his shoulder exposed, which Caravaggio often adopted at this time, is a reference to ancient statuary, which the artist seems to evoke especially in his rendering of the flowing drapery, the curls on the forehead, and the strong facial features. The light coming from the left generates different effects, first striking the young man’s shoulder and then, in a stunning display of virtuosity, depicts—on the glass flower vase at the right—the deformed reflection of the window. Furthermore, according to some critics the entire invention

Boy Bittten by a Lizard, Fondazione Roberto Longhi, Florence

Boy Bitten by a Lizard Mid-1590s Oil on canvas, 66 x 49.5 cm (26 x 191/2 in.) National Gallery, London

A young man, depicted while putting flowers in a bowl or taking

refers to the biblical concept of vanitas: both the cut flowers

fruit from a table in the foreground, is suddenly bitten by a lizard

and the depiction of the sudden pain that burst into the

that was hidden among the leaves. In this scene Caravaggio

everyday routine are to be interpreted as a sort of warning of

creates an intimate, everyday atmosphere with his scrupulous

the uncertainty and fragility of the human condition.

attention to details, as can be seen in the precise rendering of the

There are several versions of this composition, two of

boy’s grimace, which expresses both the pain and the surprise

which—this one in the National Gallery and the other in the

triggered by this unexpected incident.

Fondazione Longhi in Florence—are considered autograph

The original composition is mentioned in the sources of that

by most art historians. Both are part of the famous group of

time, both by the chief papal physician, author, and art collector

Caravaggio’s “doubles”—that is, works known in more than one

Giulio Mancini, who dates it to the time when Caravaggio was

version, which in many cases are nothing more or less than

living in the residence of Monsignor Pandolfo Pucci, and by

enigmas for art historians, given the number of imitators and

Giovanni Baglione, who places the composition in the period

excellent copyists of the Lombard artist in past centuries.

Boy Bittten by a Lizard, Fondazione Roberto Longhi, Florence

Jove, Neptune, and Pluto 1596-99 Oil on plastered wall, 316 x 152 cm (1242/5 x 594/5 in.) Casino dell’Aurora, Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi (formerly Villa Del Monte), Rome

“In the Ludosivi garden at Porta Pinciana, in the Casino

foreshortening that Caravaggio adopts to present the

that once belonged to Cardinal Del Monte,” the biographer

figures from below marks his attempt—which was not

Giovan Pietro Bellori wrote in 1672 when describing a

totally successful, according to Bellori—to silence those

ceiling with mythological gods that Caravaggio painted in

who doubted that he was able to deal with difficult

oil colors, “since Michele never used his brush to fresco”:

perspective. Jove with his eagle, Neptune with his sea

the only known work painted by Caravaggio on a wall,

horse, and Pluto accompanied by the three-headed god

discovered only in 1969 and considered lost up to that

Cerberus, stand out against a cloud-filled sky, while in the

time.

middle of the painting is a shiny sphere surrounded by the

In a letter that Del Monte wrote to Ferdinando de’

signs of the zodiac.

Medici in 1597, in which the cardinal complained that he

The triad of pagan gods refers to the various stages

had been obliged to sell the villa, which he had bought

in the aggregation of matter, as can be seen in the prints

only the previous year, to Pietro Aldobrandini, the pope’s

and volumes related to alchemy of that period. The

nephew, there is a reference to the ceiling in what Del

sophisticated alchemical iconology in this work implies the

Monte describes with enthusiasm as a special “small room.”

active participation of the cultivated Cardinal Del Monte,

This led to the supposition that the ceiling painting could

a passionate “student of chemical medicine,” in choosing

be dated to between 1596 and 1597. In April 1599 Cardinal

and defining the subject, as well as allowing Caravaggio

Del Monte repurchased the Casino and kept it until 1621,

access to his fine library. This is also attested by the many

when it was sold to Ludovico Ludovisi, the nephew of Pope

stylistic references to works of the 15th and 16th century,

Gregory XV.

such as the creations of Andrea Mantegna and, later, Giulio

The subject is closely connected to Cardinal Del Monte’s great interest in alchemy. The sotto in sù or extreme

Romano at Mantua, or the paintings of Correggio and Parmigianino.

Jove, Neptune, and Pluto 1596-99 Oil on plastered wall, 316 x 152 cm (1242/5 x 594/5 in.) Casino dell’Aurora, Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi (formerly Villa Del Monte), Rome

“In the Ludosivi garden at Porta Pinciana, in the Casino

foreshortening that Caravaggio adopts to present the

that once belonged to Cardinal Del Monte,” the biographer

figures from below marks his attempt—which was not

Giovan Pietro Bellori wrote in 1672 when describing a

totally successful, according to Bellori—to silence those

ceiling with mythological gods that Caravaggio painted in

who doubted that he was able to deal with difficult

oil colors, “since Michele never used his brush to fresco”:

perspective. Jove with his eagle, Neptune with his sea

the only known work painted by Caravaggio on a wall,

horse, and Pluto accompanied by the three-headed god

discovered only in 1969 and considered lost up to that

Cerberus, stand out against a cloud-filled sky, while in the

time.

middle of the painting is a shiny sphere surrounded by the

In a letter that Del Monte wrote to Ferdinando de’

signs of the zodiac.

Medici in 1597, in which the cardinal complained that he

The triad of pagan gods refers to the various stages

had been obliged to sell the villa, which he had bought

in the aggregation of matter, as can be seen in the prints

only the previous year, to Pietro Aldobrandini, the pope’s

and volumes related to alchemy of that period. The

nephew, there is a reference to the ceiling in what Del

sophisticated alchemical iconology in this work implies the

Monte describes with enthusiasm as a special “small room.”

active participation of the cultivated Cardinal Del Monte,

This led to the supposition that the ceiling painting could

a passionate “student of chemical medicine,” in choosing

be dated to between 1596 and 1597. In April 1599 Cardinal

and defining the subject, as well as allowing Caravaggio

Del Monte repurchased the Casino and kept it until 1621,

access to his fine library. This is also attested by the many

when it was sold to Ludovico Ludovisi, the nephew of Pope

stylistic references to works of the 15th and 16th century,

Gregory XV.

such as the creations of Andrea Mantegna and, later, Giulio

The subject is closely connected to Cardinal Del Monte’s great interest in alchemy. The sotto in sù or extreme

Romano at Mantua, or the paintings of Correggio and Parmigianino.

Deposition 1602-04 Oil on canvas, 300 x 203 cm (118 x 80 in.) Musei Vaticani, Vatican City

In 1577, Pietro Vittrice, the guardarobiere or steward of

in contact with the artist well before the beginning of the

Pope Gregory XIII, had obtained the tutelage of the Cappella

enlargement of the chapel. The strong influences of the pure

della Pietà in Santa Maria in Vallicella Church, Rome, the

expression of the spirituality of St. Philip Neri and Federico

mother church of the Oratorians. Years later, at the time

Borromeo can be seen in the conception of this superb

when remodeling work was being carried out in the church

painting, which demonstrates how the elaboration of the

and the chapel, Caravaggio was commissioned by a member

iconography was the fruit of a long planning process inspired

of the family, presumably Girolamo Vittrice, to paint a

mostly by the thought and acts of Neri and Borromeo. Mary

Deposition of Christ in the sepulcher in keeping with the

of Cleophas, in the classical pose of the orant, with her arms

testamentary provisions of Pietro. The canvas was placed

upraised, evokes motifs connected to Oratorian spirituality,

on the altar in 1604 and beautified the chapel of the church

while the Virgin, who is still keeping watch over her dead

until it was seized by Napoleon’s troops in 1797 and taken

son with the gesture of her extended arm, deviates quite a

to Paris. It was brought back to Rome in 1817 and placed in

lot from the traditional portrayals of her fainting in front of

the Vatican Picture Gallery, being replaced in the church by a

Him, in respectful observance of Borromeo’s new indications

copy painted by Michele Köck that is still there.

regarding decorum in sacred painting.

Described by Bellori in his biography of Caravaggio (1672)

Conceived much like an ancient high relief, the composi

as “among the best works painted by the brush of Michele,”

tion develops with the movement flowing downward,

this canvas became part of the admirable group of altar

beginning from the sorrowful figure with her upraised arms

pieces that he executed for the Roman churches. Thanks

and ending toward the bottom of the canvas, in the lower

to recent acquisitions of documents, we now know that

left corner, where the Redeemer’s hand grazes, and seems

the Oratorians—who were closely connected to Cardinals

to be indicating, the slab of stone, a clear reference to the

Federico Borromeo and Francesco Maria del Monte (who

evangelical cornerstone, the nucleus of the Christological

was already one of Caravaggio’s patrons)—were probably

message.

131

Deposition 1602-04 Oil on canvas, 300 x 203 cm (118 x 80 in.) Musei Vaticani, Vatican City

In 1577, Pietro Vittrice, the guardarobiere or steward of

in contact with the artist well before the beginning of the

Pope Gregory XIII, had obtained the tutelage of the Cappella

enlargement of the chapel. The strong influences of the pure

della Pietà in Santa Maria in Vallicella Church, Rome, the

expression of the spirituality of St. Philip Neri and Federico

mother church of the Oratorians. Years later, at the time

Borromeo can be seen in the conception of this superb

when remodeling work was being carried out in the church

painting, which demonstrates how the elaboration of the

and the chapel, Caravaggio was commissioned by a member

iconography was the fruit of a long planning process inspired

of the family, presumably Girolamo Vittrice, to paint a

mostly by the thought and acts of Neri and Borromeo. Mary

Deposition of Christ in the sepulcher in keeping with the

of Cleophas, in the classical pose of the orant, with her arms

testamentary provisions of Pietro. The canvas was placed

upraised, evokes motifs connected to Oratorian spirituality,

on the altar in 1604 and beautified the chapel of the church

while the Virgin, who is still keeping watch over her dead

until it was seized by Napoleon’s troops in 1797 and taken

son with the gesture of her extended arm, deviates quite a

to Paris. It was brought back to Rome in 1817 and placed in

lot from the traditional portrayals of her fainting in front of

the Vatican Picture Gallery, being replaced in the church by a

Him, in respectful observance of Borromeo’s new indications

copy painted by Michele Köck that is still there.

regarding decorum in sacred painting.

Described by Bellori in his biography of Caravaggio (1672)

Conceived much like an ancient high relief, the composi

as “among the best works painted by the brush of Michele,”

tion develops with the movement flowing downward,

this canvas became part of the admirable group of altar

beginning from the sorrowful figure with her upraised arms

pieces that he executed for the Roman churches. Thanks

and ending toward the bottom of the canvas, in the lower

to recent acquisitions of documents, we now know that

left corner, where the Redeemer’s hand grazes, and seems

the Oratorians—who were closely connected to Cardinals

to be indicating, the slab of stone, a clear reference to the

Federico Borromeo and Francesco Maria del Monte (who

evangelical cornerstone, the nucleus of the Christological

was already one of Caravaggio’s patrons)—were probably

message.

131

Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt 1607 Oil on canvas, 195 x 134 cm (764/5 x 523/5 in.) Musée du Louvre, Paris

Giovanni Baglione (1642) was the first to write that

countenance of a knight, the efficiency and character of a

Caravaggio had painted a portrait of the Grand Master of

person used to commanding, by re-elaborating models from

the Order of the Knights of Malta, Alof de Wignacourt, who

the past, official portraits in Venetian and Tuscan painting.

as a sign of his appreciation had promised to give him the

However, Wignacourt’s portrait is realistic, with the body in

mantle of the Order. It is quite probable that the canvas was

movement, as is evident in the bent leg, in the baton held

executed a short time after the artist’s arrival on the island,

with such vigor, and in the page entering the scene at right.

in the latter part of the year 1607, perhaps with the aim

Indeed, there is a total lack of the rigidity typical of official

of obtaining a papal pardon thanks to the support of the

portraits, while one perceives a subtle tension in the scene,

powerful Order. It is not certain where the painting was kept,

an implicit way of presaging imminent action, a decision,

but from indications in Bellori’s biography (1672) it would

perhaps a command. Caravaggio therefore portrays a man

seem that it was kept in the Magistral Palace of Valletta,

accustomed to action by subtly depicting the action itself. In

from which it was removed after Caravaggio escaped from

his description of the painting, Bellori does not mention the

Malta, plausibly as a recollection and tangible proof of the

page, thus creating doubt as to whether he is referring to

disgrace the Order suffered after having awarded so many

another painting of an unknown artist still being kept in the

honors to the escapee. In 1644, the painting was already

National Museum of Fine Arts of Valletta.

in Paris according to the testimony of John Evelyn. It was bought by King Louis XIV and ended up in the Louvre

which is not the same as the armor he actually used, which

collection after having suffered an inept restoration.

is known from other portraits, but is a Milanese type that

Wignacourt is portrayed at about 60 years old, full-figure

174

An interesting detail is the armor worn by Wignacourt,

dates back to 1565 to 1580 and which may have belonged to

and accompanied by a page. The armor he is wearing

the Grand Master Jean “Parisot” de la Valette and is still kept

alludes to his long service to the Order. He was responsible

in the Armory of the Magistral Palace in Valletta. This choice

for protecting the island of Malta from the frequent pirate

can probably be explained by the artist’s desire to exalt not

raids and for the organization of the military campaigns

the man himself, but rather the military glory of the Order

against the Turks in the eastern Mediterranean, which

of Knights of St. John as a whole, with particular reference

earned him the reconquest of various islands that had been

to the victory of Lepanto and the knights’ triumph after the

under Turkish dominion. Caravaggio captures the proud

Great Siege of Malta in 1565.

175

Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt 1607 Oil on canvas, 195 x 134 cm (764/5 x 523/5 in.) Musée du Louvre, Paris

Giovanni Baglione (1642) was the first to write that

countenance of a knight, the efficiency and character of a

Caravaggio had painted a portrait of the Grand Master of

person used to commanding, by re-elaborating models from

the Order of the Knights of Malta, Alof de Wignacourt, who

the past, official portraits in Venetian and Tuscan painting.

as a sign of his appreciation had promised to give him the

However, Wignacourt’s portrait is realistic, with the body in

mantle of the Order. It is quite probable that the canvas was

movement, as is evident in the bent leg, in the baton held

executed a short time after the artist’s arrival on the island,

with such vigor, and in the page entering the scene at right.

in the latter part of the year 1607, perhaps with the aim

Indeed, there is a total lack of the rigidity typical of official

of obtaining a papal pardon thanks to the support of the

portraits, while one perceives a subtle tension in the scene,

powerful Order. It is not certain where the painting was kept,

an implicit way of presaging imminent action, a decision,

but from indications in Bellori’s biography (1672) it would

perhaps a command. Caravaggio therefore portrays a man

seem that it was kept in the Magistral Palace of Valletta,

accustomed to action by subtly depicting the action itself. In

from which it was removed after Caravaggio escaped from

his description of the painting, Bellori does not mention the

Malta, plausibly as a recollection and tangible proof of the

page, thus creating doubt as to whether he is referring to

disgrace the Order suffered after having awarded so many

another painting of an unknown artist still being kept in the

honors to the escapee. In 1644, the painting was already

National Museum of Fine Arts of Valletta.

in Paris according to the testimony of John Evelyn. It was bought by King Louis XIV and ended up in the Louvre

which is not the same as the armor he actually used, which

collection after having suffered an inept restoration.

is known from other portraits, but is a Milanese type that

Wignacourt is portrayed at about 60 years old, full-figure

174

An interesting detail is the armor worn by Wignacourt,

dates back to 1565 to 1580 and which may have belonged to

and accompanied by a page. The armor he is wearing

the Grand Master Jean “Parisot” de la Valette and is still kept

alludes to his long service to the Order. He was responsible

in the Armory of the Magistral Palace in Valletta. This choice

for protecting the island of Malta from the frequent pirate

can probably be explained by the artist’s desire to exalt not

raids and for the organization of the military campaigns

the man himself, but rather the military glory of the Order

against the Turks in the eastern Mediterranean, which

of Knights of St. John as a whole, with particular reference

earned him the reconquest of various islands that had been

to the victory of Lepanto and the knights’ triumph after the

under Turkish dominion. Caravaggio captures the proud

Great Siege of Malta in 1565.

175

The Martyrdom of St. Ursula 1610 Oil on canvas, 142 x 180 cm (56 x 704/5 in.) Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples

In May 1610, the Genoese patrician Marcantonio Doria received news from his agent in Naples, Lanfranco Massa, that the consignment of the “painting of St. Ursula” had to be delayed because the varnish on the canvas was still wet. In that period, before being sent to Genoa, the magnificent work had sparked a great deal of interest, due to the originality of the iconography and the excellent pictorial quality. The work later appeared in the inventories of the Doria family residence in Genoa in 1620, and returned to Naples in 1832, after being inherited by the Neapolitan branch of the Doria family. It was then sold to the Romano Avezzana barons and lastly purchased by the Banca Commerciale Italiana in 1972, having been attributed to Mattia Preti. The legendary massacre of St. Ursula together with eleven thousand virgins is narrated in a 10th-century Passio that describes the story of the Breton princess who dedicated her life to God and, having arrived in Cologne, was slaughtered by the Huns for refusing to marry Attila, the king of the Huns. As is the case with the other paintings in Caravaggio’s final production, the iconography of this one, executed a couple of months before he died, also harks back to the models of Classical culture while at the same time doing away with traditional imagery and depicting the scene in a wholly original fashion. In fact, in more recent times, before the discovery of the relevant documentation, the subject had been interpreted as a typical allegorical scene. In the narrow horizontal space of the canvas, with drapery as background (perhaps a reference to the Huns’ camp), the persons are painted crowded together in three-quarter length and dressed in contemporary clothing, in keeping with Caravaggio’s practice of modernizing the sacred event. The composition is immersed in darkness: only a raking light reveals, like a sudden lightning bolt, a few details, including the hands, clothing, and expression. Once again, behind the protagonist there emerges the profile of Caravaggio in a hastily rendered self-portrait. The entire narration leaves out the particulars of the hagiographic description and omits the grandiloquent tone that was usually adopted when representing the martyrdom of the virgins at Cologne, and is now concentrated on the young woman’s intimate spasm. The saint is almost incredulous as she looks at the mortal wound in her chest, and her cheeks have already lost all their color. The incipient awareness of the end that manifests itself in the saint’s livid face and in the poignant gestures of her hands touching her breast is more powerful and eloquent that any shriek of pain. Caravaggio does not show us the blood, the color of which is conveyed by the purple robe enveloping Ursula. Everything seems to freeze for a moment around this sorrowful image before the tumultuous episode resumes its fated course.

204

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The Martyrdom of St. Ursula 1610 Oil on canvas, 142 x 180 cm (56 x 704/5 in.) Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples

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