Caravaggio

David Reed on Caravaggio

Painters on Paintings

David Reed considers rarely seen details in several paintings by Caravaggio and how these details alter and intensify the potential meanings of the works. Reed writes; “Did Caravaggio realize that the self-portrait reflection in the “Bacchus” and the praying figure in “The Works” would not be visible under the standard circumstances in which the paintings […]

Before Realism: Valentin de Boulogne & the Brothers Le Nain

Art in America

Richard Neer writes: “Valentin [de Boulogne] … was … a leading exponent of a style of painting that Caravaggio had pioneered a generation earlier: shadowy, dramatically lit scenes drawn directly from life that pushed the boundaries of good taste through a commitment to verisimilitude and déclassé subject matter. With his death, that Caravaggesque tradition lost […]

Beyond Caravaggio @ The National Gallery, London

London Review of Books

Julian Bell reviews Beyond Caravaggio at The National Gallery, London, on view through January 15, 2017. Describing Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ (1602), Bell observes “This is beauty, Caravaggio-style. An object is illuminated and scrutinised until its textures sing out. Comparable pleasures are on offer when Caravaggio paints a glass vase in the National Gallery’s […]