Caravaggio Fight

The Card Sharps,
Caravaggio

Love Conquers All,
Caravaggio

Here I go, again, following the direction of some comments coming in. I think it's a nice opportunity to open up a can of: Art Criticism on the old Baroque master Caravaggio.

If you see the comments from my last post, Philip and Robyn and I have each our own opinions on this artist, and we are taking the risk of sharing these opinions in the public square. As my teacher, Diane Townsend once said about a Kandinsky that I was trying to not drop rain upon in class, "We have permission to not like his art."

What do you think about all of this?

Types of Subject

I had another post written for today, but I liked the conversation going on in the comments area for the previous easter posts. They bring up some global art issues that dovetail well with our art crit. conversation. I wrote the following:

Yes, those Renaissance (and Baroque) painters had a good handle on figurative, narrative and spiritual subjects.
When I see the three that I curated for the easter holiday, I wonder if there is anywhere else to go with realistic and figurative art in the present and in the future. Their works were nearly perfect in accomplishing their goals.

I think about Harvey Dinnerstein, who is a stunningly good contemporary figure painter. He uses the self-portrait, and urban scenes with contemporary figures as subjects. They match the quality of the Renaissance greats, although I'm not aware of any works he has done that are as complex as these multi-figured compositions.

What place does spiritual work have in art's present and future? Is it more important, less important or roughly equal to the place of socially and ethnically aware contemporary art?

My bias: I am more likely to either relegate to a lesser status, or just disregard any current art that is social, or political. The reasons are that I value more the formal qualities of art, including subjects that are self-interested (such as color or abstraction).

Crucifixion

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter
1600
Caravaggio
Oil on canvas, 230 x 175 cm
Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome

The work of Christ on the cross was complete for the expiation of man's sin, but that didn't mean that the work of existence was through. Witness what happened to Peter, according to early tradition of his death in Rome. Peter is supposed to have opted for an inverted version of Christ's death on the cross. Is there a better tale of humility available anywhere?

On the subject of Caravaggio, please take the time to read the short biography at the link. Not your poster child for Christian behavior, that's for sure. Regarding his art, he was a great Italian artist of the Baroque movement. I regard his art to be a great example of figurative work, and when I take that up again, he will be the "go to" guy.

Interesting reference about The Crucifixion of Saint Peter painting here.