Art History: What Makes a Caravaggio?

Frederick Ilchman, chair, Art of Europe; and Mrs. Russell W. Baker Curator of Paintings
Despite a brief and controversial career, Caravaggio remains one of the most influential and absorbing of all Italian painters. The presence in Boston of four important works from Italy in “Visiting Masterpieces: Caravaggio and Connoisseurship” provides a rare opportunity to confront this artist firsthand, explore his artistic achievement, and consider the complexities of authenticity through a lesson in connoisseurship with curator Frederick Ilchman.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014

[@Thankful2bCatholic]

thank you for this! Many artists do NOT have the opportunity to attend university or such fine schools and receive this amazing information. THANK YOU for sharing so much expertise freely with the world!

[@lannyoslo2902]

thank you for the lack of ads 🙏a true joy to watch, listen and learn

[@RichMitch]

Absolutely, makes a huge difference

[@Scott-hq3jq]

Breathtaking... I know virtually nothing about art and painting but this Caravaggio cat is... breathtaking...

[@MarcusAureliusSP]

Your KZbin Channel is simply awesome! My understanding of art is elevated and I'm now able to appreciate it from an entirely different perspective. Being empowered to savour the breathtaking beauty of Caravaggio at a whole different level. The history and details, add substance and meaning to it all. It's presented with simple clarity that's palatable for simple folk like myself. Thank you very much...

[@brandontien-chow3672]

Lawrence Tay I

[@RinaElsayed773]

Lawrence, what is your opinion on the great Artemisia Gentileschi??

[@MarcusAureliusSP]

@@RinaElsayed773 none...neer heard of him till now

[@RinaElsayed773]

Is not ‘he’ , is SHE, a super talented baroque painter, please, you have to know her. Art History is not fair... !

[@B0Nnaaay]

OMG! Thank You for getting out wonderful information in an hour that took my Art History professor 3 months! I definitely wouldn’t have failed his class😕

[@kathleenkaleookalanismith8724]

Wow!! So beautiful and thank you for sharing all this wealth of information

[@claudettedelphis6476]

Wonderful lecture on such beautiful art 🖼 Very well presented 🎋 Thank you for sharing with us 🌺

[@mikeyoftheabyss2952]

This was excellent and so informative. I will be watching as many of these lectures as I can.

[@kayfletcher4169]

Excellent talk. Thank you.

[@0Iive]

My all time favourite painter 😊

[@nellzom]

This is fantastic.

[@henrik5761]

It is very strange that he 3:37 says " the proportions isn't very convincing.."

[@b3blueblue]

Excellent work and presentation!!!!! Bravo!

[@m.i.miller8008]

Excellent Presentation.. thank you for posting.

[@joshcheung5179]

amazing video, thank you guys

[@RockstarNr7]

The Proportions are wrong in those paintings because they are supposed to be viewed from below. Notice the horse in the painting at 2:10 and then notice it at 6:00 when it's viewed from a different perspective. The man appears bigger and the horse smaller. This was intentional because he knew how the paintings were going to be viewed. This dude should have mentioned this as it is really well known in the art world.

[@adrian-qr6zk]

horse perspective expert you are

[@arielvicentius4577]

I agree with you; it is the arrogance of the critics - really.

[@debbiejohnson2789]

Oh shut up. It’s fabulous!

[@picassoboy52]

That is absolutely correct. He would have been shown the space where they would hang n would have taken that into consideration

[@picassoboy52]

adrian disrespectful

[@julianrdz]

i miss getting to go here whenever i wanted.

[@rodicacretu1030]

I have just read in a book about the significance of composition in emphasising ideas in paintings, and the use of light and shadows for telling the painters opinion on the subject. Would be nice to have such conferences about the elements of some of Caravaggio”s most interesting paintings. Thank you.

[@rodicacretu1030]

I was in Naples and saw the Seven Acts of Mercy. The guide, a young and very charming woman explained to us where on the painting each mercy was placed. I noticed that they were placed ( according to their importance) in a cross. And I remembered that the cross is our salvation.

[@pmajudge]

AH!!! CARAVAGGIO MY FAVOURITE INDEED HOWEVER , THE ST THOMAS FINGER IN CHRIST'S SIDE STRUCK OUT THE VERY BEST & CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL & ST. PETER CRUCIFIED UPSIDE DOWN --- ADORE ALL THREE ITS SO REAL !!! LIKE A HUGE PHOTOGRAPH. FROM (2021).

[@bengerman8609]

Great lecture. Excellent presentation.

[@paulalovesart4545]

excellent.

[@dougwilliams8602]

What makes a Caravaggio? I’m guessing Caravaggio

[@picassoboy52]

The low level of thinking in some of these posts is truly staggering

[@WelshIron]

People laughing at the Goliath painting!! Come on.

[@susanmercurio1060]

I'm not sure that Caravaggio planned to kill his tennis opponent: it seems more like a monetary passion.

[@Dulanlee]

His character and personality mad his life a difficult one

[@BrigidaRuffo-x7j]

Malta is not in the middle of nowhere

[@kevinmanning3753]

The nerves do show though in places but good!

[@lizandgordon1]

Would have preferred to see the paintings in closer detail, rather than seeing the speaker sharing the screen....

[@rodicacretu1030]

In a book written by Paul Guth, the French academician, “Le naif aux 40 enfants”, he explains, to some 40 teenagers, how Phedra ends up by seducing Hypolite. Following his example and using my own words, I will try to explain what I understand of the Conversion of Paul. The horse is the animal that couples once in a lifetime, it is, as Catherine Hepburn says in a memorable film's scene, the most trustful and loyal animal. So, the horse is something we can thing of personifying loyalty and trust. The person that guides it could be God. I would say his forehead, the fact we can see only His Head, where the plan of His creation dowels, and His hands, the utensils He used to create it, make us believe the old man is God, or maybe Caravaggio himself, since he is an artist. Paul, not yet a saint, lays down on the earth, terrified of the closeness to this earth which will engulf him. He raised his arms to the horse that can carry him to Heaven only if he keeps looking in the eyes of the man we think is God. The horse's eyes are looking into Paul's eyes, to see if the trust is established, for the conversion to take place.

[@rodicacretu1030]

I could talk more than an hour about this painting. The problem is, I am not sure I walk on a right trail. Anyway, thank you for the challenge.

[@rodicacretu1030]

Keep the ring!

[@ericmotta1]

25:00

[@shawnallen5068]

I think this is a very delightful and informative lecture; nevertheless, an art historian is not an exegete. Matthew is not the first gospel; however, by popular theory Mark is the first gospel. To appeal to all objective historians, one must try to be as historically and systematically accurate.

[@renzo6490]

Writers, scholars do not necessarily make good lecturers.

[@しぁんくれーる0823]

何でこんな偉大な巨匠を知らなかったのだろう‼　最近知ったばかりで、私が学んだ教科書や参考書には Caravaggio の名前は全くなかった。知識・教養偏重の日本教育に矛盾を感じる。

[@nasiruddin6080]

USA 🇺🇸 🌷👍

[@Dulanlee]

愛令人盲！

[@SPC5119]

Slow down !

[@josedejesus9172]

face recognition technology? for sitters of old. lol

[@theoriginalrabbithole]

53:33 "or the sort of isolated beleaguered genius of Van Go". (shakes head) There is both a 'G' and an 'H' at the end of Vincent's name that are neither invisible nor silent. One would think that a connoisseur of Mr. Ilchman's stature, who has such perfect pronunciation of Italian, would get that right. ;-p Otherwise, an extraordinary lecture on Caravaggio. Anyone who enjoyed this, would VERY much enjoy Simon Schama's 'Power of Art' documentary on Carravaggio as well.

[@holeymattress8128]

Many names are anglicized.Titian is actually Tiziano, Louve is actually Louvre, etc. It's just colloquialism at work...Van Go is the accepted pronunciation in the English speaking world.

[@richardverrall6333]

@@holeymattress8128 Not in England it isn't. 'Van Go' is purely American English. The accepted pronunciation, or at least the most common one in colloquial use in England, is either "van Goff", or less commonly, "van G-och", a slightly subdued ending which sounds more like the German "hoch" but with a G.

[@holeymattress8128]

@@richardverrall6333 In 2019, American English is the globally dominant vernacular, British English... not so much.

[@peteannells4218]

@@holeymattress8128 Not in England it isn;t. Van Go is an Americanism. We say Louvre too. Good luck with Ingres!

[@peteannells4218]

@@holeymattress8128 Only in America. We can spell too!

[@ElmwoodParkHulk]

Caravaggio got the Covid and died

[@picassoboy52]

Dumbest and least intelligent comment ever posted

[@davidpetras7483]

@@picassoboy52 You are probably like 40 my dude

[@kekbish104]

@@picassoboy52 this guy is supersmart care

[@kekbish104]

lip smacking....

[@paolodibruno]

What an awful lecture! He's reading off a script and struggling. Caravaggio is the greatest painter of the Renaissance/Baroque. This guy is Mr ugh! How can you make Caravaggio this..ugh...boring?

[@mr.humbert3411]

Minghia Carabbaggio