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Beginning around 1668, Spanish colonizers in Venezuela wrote stories about a sculpture of the Virgin Mary found floating in the ocean. Some said that she protected sailors from pirates, others described how she led a lost ship safely to shore. Venerated for miraculous acts of guidance, the sculpture was placed in a church in Caracas,Continue reading “A Venezuelan ‘Nuestra Señora de Guía’ “

May is a month traditionally devoted to Mary, so how fitting that it should begin with the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, the silent witness of her purity and the bedrock of the Holy Family.  This 18th century image of Saint Joseph’s Dream and Repentance, made from shell and oil paint, comes from aContinue reading “The Bedrock of the Holy Family”

Depicted here, by the great Catalan artist Bernat Matorell, is the most frequently represented episode from the popular legend of Saint George, in which the model Christian knight saves a town and rescues a beautiful princess.  Here Saint George, on his white steed, triumphs over the evil dragon. A wealth of precisely observed details intensifiesContinue reading “A Catalan Saint George”

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”