The genius of Caravaggio in Rome
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio died 400 years ago. For this reason an extraordinary exhibition has been organised to celebrate this anniversary. The location of such an amazing event couldn’t be any other but Rome, the city where the famous Lombard genius realised most of his painting.
An intense life
A lot has been written about the genius of Caravaggio. Sometimes he has been appreciated and considered more for his eccentric and unconventional life than for his special creative ability. Caravaggio seems to be the epitome of a true artist…loose living, genius, bohemian life style; during his youth he has been involved in several criminal actions and was sentenced to prison and even to death penalty for murder. However the bohemian lifestyle of Caravaggio can only be considered to be true partially because he was also very “organic” to the society of his time.
Powerful patrons
He was friends with some members of the influential family of Colonna, he had, as well, several important sponsors, such as the aristocratic cardinal Del Monte, the noble Marcantonio Doria, cardinal Mattei and Vincenzo Giustiniani, probably the richest man in Rome at that time. The protection through these personalities permitted to Caravaggio to express his genius freely, reaching the highest peak of fame.
The exhibtion
For sure it’s not the first exhibition dedicated to Caravaggio but certainly this one gathers the highest number of masterpieces. 24 paintings, coming from the most important museums and galleries of Rome, Italy and rest of the world. The idea of the exhibition is to choose only paintings which have been historically certified as original, excluding, for now, the pieces which are still under critical discussion about their authenticity and those ones which are “second or additional versions” of original pictures.
The “Basket of Fruit” from the Ambrosiana Library of Milan, the “David with Goliath’s Head” from the Borghese Gallery in Rome, the “Amor Vincit Omnia” from the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, the “Lute Player” from the Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg, the “Bacchus” from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the “Boy with the Basket of Fruit” from the Borghese Gallery in Rome…these are just a few of the amazing paintings that we will be able to admire in the exhibition, which has been organised in the elegant location of “Scuderie del Quirinale”, just nearby the “Quirinale Palace”, in the center of Rome.
The exhibition has started on February 20th and will terminate on June 13th. Success has been immediate and over 5000 people are visiting the gallery every day. Considering that price is very honest (10 euros is really not mucg for the number of incredible masterpieces), I would suggest you to rent some Apartments in Rome, visit the exhibition more than once and breath the art feeling in the air.
