Monthly Archives: Apr 2025

The Gospel of John tells us that ‘after eight days, again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be to you. Then He saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see My hands, and bring hither thy hand,Continue reading “Doubting Thomas”

The Flagellation of Christ is undeniably one of the most important canvases Caravaggio painted in Naples. Sources attest that it was indeed one of the paintings that sealed his success as a painter in the city. It is built around the stunning, sculptural figure of Christ, his body bathed in light and symbolically displayed. TheContinue reading “Caravaggio in Naples”

This image, which Caravaggio may have painted for Olimpia Aldobrandini, takes as its starting point a passage from the Gospel of Luke in which Christ has been welcomed into the house of sisters Martha and Mary Magdalene. It shows an imaginary exchange between the modest Martha, shown reproaching her sister for her wayward conduct andContinue reading “Two sisters”

This extraordinary painting on the right, first published by Roberto Longhi in 1963, is one of the few surviving portraits by Caravaggio. The sitter is Maffeo Barberini, an important prelate of the Roman curia who became pope as Urban VIlI in 1623. In his lefthand, he clutches a piece of parchment which probably bears theContinue reading “Monsignor Maffeo Barberini”

With mourners, pilgrims and tourists gathering in Rome at this time, I hope many will also find the time to visit Caravaggio 2025, the landmark exhibition of 28 works by the baroque master brought together as the artistic highlight of this Jubilee year. While many of the works are usually at home in Rome’s museums,Continue reading “Caravaggio 2025”

Many scenes showing the crowning of thorns were inspired by a famous version by Caravaggio. Yet in this tragic scene the youthful Ribera appropriated this prototype and reinvented it. Among the executioners, we find the famous bald model once again, as well as a grimacing young man, who with his thumb placed between his indexContinue reading “Ribera’s Crowing of Thorns and the underworld of Baroque Rome”

Christ stands at the top of the stairs and is mocked by a Roman soldier, while the Roman governor Pontius Pilate gestures to the crowd, declaring, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him” (John 19:4). The Spanish painter Orrente’s use of dark silhouettesContinue reading “Pedro Orrente’s Venetian style”

Conventional representations of the Crucifixion highlight Jesus’s suffering by showing an emaciated figure hanging limply with downcast eyes. However, in this image by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens we see a radical departure from this tradition. Rather than a tortured martyr, this Christ is heroically alive. He raised his eyes trustingly toward the heavens.Continue reading “Christ is heroically alive”

The Florentine Bartolomé Carducho was one of the founders of the Madrid school of painting. His work deploys a masterly use of drawing, an ordered sense of composition and a warm palette toned by a carefully controlled light. Rather than the more traditional image of the consecration of the Eucharist, in this Last Supper CarduchoContinue reading “A Madrid Last Supper”