{"id":13814,"date":"2022-01-06T18:45:39","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T15:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/?p=13814"},"modified":"2022-01-13T13:38:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T10:38:58","slug":"caravaggio-seen-as-un-homme-maudit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/caravaggio-seen-as-un-homme-maudit\/","title":{"rendered":"Caravaggio seen as “un homme maudit”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h1>\n

Caravaggio criticism and popularity<\/b>\"\"<\/b><\/span><\/h1>\n

For many years, Caravaggio\u2019s popularity with the lower class led <\/span>seicento<\/span><\/i> classicists to disparage his work, a persisting negative bias evident in the work of scholars in later centuries who neglected his work. It has been only within the last sixty years that scholars have taken this Lombard artist\u2019s work more seriously. Seicento critics\u2019 negative opinions of realism parallel that of Michelangelo when he criticized Flemish realism. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Tuscan artist said it would appeal to the devout: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cto women, especially to the very old and the very young, and also to monks and nuns and to certain noblemen who have no sense of harmony.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Caravaggio\u2019s contemporaries noted his popularity with the common person, reflecting the paintings\u2019 and the artist\u2019s lack of decorum and slavish dependence on a model. Many perceived Caravaggio\u2019s bold naturalism to be unrefined.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, let see some deep facts about this “homme maudits”<\/p>\n

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Caravaggio was a dangerous criminal.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Caravaggio had a reputation for a short temper and was quick to fall into bar or street brawls. He committed relatively light but bizarre infractions, such as swearing at a constable or roaming with an unlicensed sword. In one instance, he cut a hole in his ceiling to allow more natural light while painting; this impromptu carpentry gave his landlord cause to throw him out. Beyond this, he was brought to trial for significant crimes at least eleven times, including scarring a guard and throwing a plate at the face of waiter because he believed his undercooked artichokes were an insult.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0He spent some of his later years in exile.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As punishment for Tomassoni\u2019s murder, Caravaggio was issued a death warrant, which could be executed at any time in Rome. He fled to Naples, where he hid in the homes of noble families including the Sforzas and the Colonnas, and to Malta, an independent sovereignty that welcomed him safely. Throughout his exile he continued working, traveling to Sicily to paint some of his most beloved and influential works, including\u00a0The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

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The mafia have stolen a Caravaggio painting.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 1969, Caravaggio\u2019s\u00a0Nativity with St. Francis and Saint Lawrence<\/i><\/a> was stolen from the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo. Although the work has never been found, members of the Italian mafia have claimed that the painting was often on display at major meetings and gatherings of high-ranking mafia members, but that it had been damaged and subsequently destroyed. The work was valued at approximately $20 to 25$ million.<\/p>\n

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His paintings might have killed him.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 2010, human bones were found in Porto Ercole that scientists have concluded are likely those of Caravaggio. The bones reflected a toxic level of lead, is\u00a0 almost certainly from the paint with which he worked quite physically and messily could have killed him. The artist\u2019s reputation for erratic and violent behavior, which is a common symptom of lead poisoning, bolsters this theory.<\/p>\n

He has an epic epitaph.<\/h2>\n

Caravaggio\u2019s epitaph, composed by his friend Marzio Milesi, reflects a beloved artist: \u201cMichelangelo Merisi, son of Fermo di Caravaggio \u2013 in painting not equal to a painter, but to Nature itself \u2013 died in Porto Ercole \u2013 betaking himself hither from Naples \u2013 returning to Rome \u2013 15th of August \u2013 in the year of our Lord 1610 \u2013 He lived thirty-six years nine months and twenty days \u2013 Marzio Milesi, Jurisconsult \u2013 Dedicated this to a friend of extraordinary genius.\u201d<\/p>\n

we can call this master\u00a0 painter an homme maudit<\/strong> with a tragic destiny.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caravaggio criticism and popularity For many years, Caravaggio\u2019s popularity with the lower class led seicento classicists to disparage his work, a persisting negative bias evident in the work of scholars in later centuries who neglected his work. It has been only within the last sixty years that scholars have taken this Lombard artist\u2019s work more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-13814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13814"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13893,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13814\/revisions\/13893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13814"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mozartcultures.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=13814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}