The fact you can be an Artist with a highly recognized painting style, and you can still live on the run by painting. Patron: "hey this looks like the art of that guy who murdered a guy" Caravaggio with a fake mustache: "hah small world right haha"
Ha! It’s more complicated than that. Check out « The Lost Painting » by Jonathan Harr. It was an investigation that went on for decades to discover that Caravaggio and M were the same painter
funnily enough, not only did he have a _real_ moustache, he also had _really_ powerful friends. the well-known profligate Cardinal del Monte was his protector in Rome until he became too annoying to deal with. then he hid under the noble Colonna family in Naples until he became too annoying to deal with. then he went to Malta because the head of the Knights there, Alof de Wignacourt, liked his style, until he became too annoying to deal with. then he tried to curry favor with another cardinal, Scipione Borghese, but he died before he became too annoying to deal with.
From the moment i first saw Caravaggio's Taking of The Christ when I was a very young girl, to this day as an elderly woman, I believe Caravaggio captured the pain Jesus Christ felt when Judas, one of His beloved apostles, betrayed him. It is a powerful masterpiece!
The painting is in Dublin, where I was brought up, it was only identified in the 90's, so no-one saw it besides the Jesuits prior to that, at least in recent memory.
I LOVE how you discover and share the truly masterful details. Like the composition, or the two interlocking hands of Caravaggio and John. Please don't stop highlighting these nuances of genius. Thank you.
please please please reupload this video with the copywritten material removed but keeping all your words intact this is one of my favorite videos on youtube and now the ending is lost and the story ends abruptly 😓
you took out the portion where he m*rdered somebody and was on the run facing capital punishment and how that related to his art. very crucial parts of this video taken from us. please remake the video without the copyrwritten images/music to restore the entire story!
I’m so glad I randomly got recommended this channel. I only wish my art history classes had been so intriguing and informative back when I was in college, because I would’ve taken far, far more interest in the study. Caravaggio’s mastery of light and shadow is still unmatched in my opinion.
I'm somewhat astounded that you didn't point out that the soldier's armour is completely out of place for the age of Christ. but is contemporary to Caravaggio himself. Guess, in his day and age it was like a picture of a SWAT team arresting a terrorist Jesus. No wonder priests would immediately cover it with a rag and toss it under bed.
My entire childhood life I wanted to be an artist remembered like these men... but as I got older I realized that art was not appreciated in these times; as a result I grew out of my love of art ..... but now seeing your series and channel it now has sparked my love of my passion again knowing people really look for the meanings in someone's art
You know what's weird his shades of light make it look like the light is being cast from overhead electric lights but it's 500 years before electricity
I never liked or rather understood and appreciated Caravaggio until I watched this , your video. thank you, please continue with your wonderful, illuminating series.
What a brilliant lecture, James ! I could listen to your videos whole day. You are gifted 🙂 Thank you for all the efforts you put into each of your videos !!!
This video contains a brilliant analysis of a tremendous painting from one my favourite artists of which i was previously unaware. The video also contains a cogent discussion of Caravaggio's career and life as a whole as well as the historical context of the painting and the painter. The content is university level stuff , yet accessible to anyone with an inquisitive mind and an interest in Art History . Bravissimo sir! Thank you for the work and effort that you have put into the making of this video and you have earned a new subscriber
You have no idea how much of an essential resource you are to budding artists such as myself. What a beautiful way to give back to the world of art, thank you so so much for your hard work!!!
I remember commenting a few months back about a video of Caravaggio from you and you answered and said you would . Amazing ! Im watching this on repeat! 🙏🖤
@@GreatArtExplained Great Editing , the Narration its top tier and love how you include tons of information in a very clear way and of course your personal opinion 🙏🖤
Wonderful as always ❤️ -- I had the privilege of seeing this painting 'in person' and it has been with me ever since -- regardless of his life choices, he was a genius as a painter. *Thank* *you* for sharing your wealth of knowledge and obvious love of what you are inviting us into.
Great pairing with the ultra intensive voice of Callas. Thanks a million for your enlightenment of this great work of art. I have learned enormously and been deeply moved.
Thank you for your work! It reminded me the experience of contemplating this work at the National Gallery of Ireland many years ago and how moved I was by the drawing and the light of this painting. Keep your great work! The background music is more than appropriate, it really helps with the drama of the story.
I discovered this channel a few days ago and can't stop watching your videos. Sublime descriptions. Great narrative. You are making a perfect homage to these master pieces!
The Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane (Australia) currently has an exhibit of European Masters running and it featured Caravaggio's "Musicians". To be able to stand so close and absorb such a Master's work is a truly spiritual experience within the space he stood over 4 centuries ago.
Hello. Your channel was suggested to me by RU-vid earlier today. I must tell you how much I am enjoying the segments. It’s wonderful to hear your impressions and insights . I am excited to watch the remaining ones and look forward to what you will produce next. Thanks very much!
After watching your videos, I purchased The Beheading of Holofernes t-shirt. I wear it proudly. Thank you for being the best thing to come out of 2020.
Another great video. First, I liked the way you wove video clips into this for emphasis to illustrate points. But what really intrigued me was the way he used a black or very dark background and clever use of light angles to make his works so dramatic. Being a struggling photographer, these elements always draw my attention towards what I am looking at and I try for them in my photos when I can. The limited light coming from the direction of the viewer was excellent. Thank you for your taking the time to create and post this video.
Your willingness to look at Bosch's great triptych through the eyes of those for whom it was intended, rather than fantastical modern eyes, got me hooked on this series. I appreciate your sincerity and penetrating knowledge. Please keep up the amazing work.
Wonderful channel - thank you so much for the hard work and effort you put into each video. Art has the ability to comfort, and the comment section is testimony to how much joy and comfort your videos are bringing to the world at an especially trying time.
This has become one of these channels where I would watch all its videos in a couple days then constantly wait for new content. I love how all the comments are always so positive, and you deserve it!
He was a man who knew darkness with an intimacy that most would find - and did find - repulsive. But to me, that is why he is so masterful with light. Light is more than a study in his work; it is the whole subject of almost every piece, and rendered in such a way that the viewer is instantly pulled into intimacy with it. There is something involuntary about it, and I think that feeling is what people reacted so powerfully to, both positively and negatively. I'm not an art student or expert so I hope that makes sense. Caravaggio was just a revelation for me. If you don't mind a suggestion, I'd love to hear you talk about Conversion on the Way to Damascus. Thanks for making these videos; I love them.
Excellent series. The brief but in-depth explanations, the history and influences of the artist, the breadth of the subjects make these films a must for anyone with and interest in art and the visual world. Thank you and long may they continue.
Awesome work! You can almost see the despair in Judas eyes, red nose and expression show us he was probably drunk af. You can almost smell his breath just by the look in Jesus face.
Caravaggio’s self portrait: His face glows with fascination in the event of Jesus’ conviction - which is evident in the painting itself. His hand holds the light as if he is ‘shining a light’ on the rawness of human nature and the chaotic results from good and evil. The greatest point being made is that his right hand, the one holding the lantern, is his painting hand (as stated) and is shaped as if he were holding a paintbrush with the intent of fine detail. His painting hand in action, holding the light that shines unto the event is the brilliance of how the artist Caravaggio, makes this piece one for his own eyes, in his own story for you to see. The subtle, yet saturated emotional communication of Caravaggio’s values, morals, and ethics are displayed in a piece of what we humans categorize as art, the secret language of the human race - super alien if you ask me. It’s like a visual transfer of a million emotions that is so dense, this video barely scrapes the entirety of built up experiences that lead to this depiction. Cool stuff.
I love picking one of your videos to watch before bed as a nice way to end my day and feel like I’ve learned something before days end. Thanks for your work!
I adore his dramatic use of light and shadows. Your eyes are drawn straight to his subjects' faces. As a photographer, light is everything, so I especially appreciate and respect artists who use it to its fullest potential.
It's been said that lead has sometimes led people to madness. I wonder if that might have had anything to do with why he killed someone. Caravaggio is easily one of my favorite painters. I learned about him after learning about DaVinci. I was already blown away by DaVinci's style of realism using a broad array of gradual tones creating shade and shadow. When I was first shown Caravaggio's work I felt like he had perfected what DaVinci started. With that said; I still consider DaVinci to be more talented because of his extreme versatility. Great video.
“It was lead poisoning, from his paints” *singing swells to a tragic high pitch* “Caravaggio it would seem, may have quite literally died for his art” beautiful ending to an insightful and entertaining video. Thank you.
Amazing content and very consistent quality! Lead poisoning is known to cause behavioural issues. Do you think this may have contributed to violence and erratic behaviour? Love from India!
I love how you skip the boring textbook bios and instead hook us with highly poignant takes on these canonical artists. Thank you for your excellent work!
This guy could paint circles around his peers and yet was a criminal on the run. I love Caravaggio's work -- his talent is undeniable. He had to be himself and I don't think the work would have come out the same way or of the same quality if he wasn't. Thank you for doing this series -- it's fantastic.
Fascinating. Perhaps some of what makes him so amazing is that, living "in the gutter" in the way he did, he saw plenty of unvarnished human emotions. People at their worst, drunk and violent and brawling, intent on doing terrible things to one another. People at their most terrified, fleeing, regretting, carrying out orders whether they really agree with them or not. And...maybe, once in a while, people at their most honest, their most joyful, people just happy to be alive in a body that isn't yet sick or dying. I have no idea if he might've painted those more joyful moments... but I bet he saw them. And it seems obvious that he had eidetic memory to some extent, needing the barest gesture to establish poses and so forth.
I genuinely cannot thank you enough for this channel. I am absolutely in love with all of your videos. I have shared it with most of my friends. Thank you, THANK YOU!
These videos are really well executed. You're doing such a great job at pulling high-class art down from its (at times) pretentious pedestal, only to explore and explain it in great detail. I really appreciate it, because I think the language of the art world can be difficult to comprehend. I believe it to be very exclusive and I'm grateful for these videos. They pick great art appart and reassemble it and I can only say that it makes me appreciate each artist and each artwork much more.
Thanks James for this nice work. I've recently discovered Caravaggio while visiting Rome and was shocked by the beauty of his work. Would it be possible to also mention your theoretical sources if there are any?
Fantastic Job there! great explanation about his work/life. Caravaggio was definitely like an outsider living on the edge, with a provocative style, yet he knew his art. Cheers.
