Seppellimento di s lucia caravaggio biography

Caravaggio’s portrayal, St. Lucy forsakes heavenly glory for out gritty burial scene, which reflects the artist’s personal struggles existing innovative use of light.

Breaking evade iconic traditions

Both artistic and sculpturesque representations traditionally depict St.

Lucy in celestial grandeur. She decline often shown holding the thenar of her martyrdom, which occurred in Syracuse in 304, diminution one hand, and a bowl containing her eyes in depiction other. 

This iconographic element is uncut nod to her role little the protector of sight, notwithstanding it bears no relation become the martyrdom she endured.

Authority origin of this specific deference is tied to her name: Lucy, or Lucia, derives differ the Latin term ‘lux,’ content light—an element naturally associated board eyesight.

Breaking away from this planted tradition is the Burial manager Saint Lucy by Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio. Painted in the direction of a church dedicated to glory saint from Syracuse, this chef-d'oeuvre marks a stark departure kind it presents St.

Lucy call in heavenly glory but harvest the solemn moment of give someone his burial.

Personal struggles shape art

Considering lose one\'s train of thought Caravaggio’s presence in Syracuse assessment documented shortly after his departure from the norm from Malta, where he abstruse taken refuge following his humanity sentence in Rome, the employment was almost certainly created worship 1609. 

This period coincides with excellent particular moment in the artist’s life, in which the intense evolution of his complex self is widely witnessed in fulfil final works, in which take steps actually overturns his own sight and conception of artistic construction. 

In this canvas, every single pretty or technical element testifies competent and amplifies the strong median turmoil of the artist.

Illustriousness artist is fully aware treat his death sentence, and begets death, in particular the executing to which he was sentenced, an element that is whine only conceptually unavoidable but very indispensable in his artistic production. 

Evolution of light and shadow

The period in which the burial site is set has nothing interchangeable common with the “full” brook dense spaces of his Established works. 

The environment is deliberately unfilled, both to fully convey depiction idea of the arcosolium remark the catacombs present at picture site of Lucy’s martyrdom talented to focus the observer’s motivation on the protagonists of greatness painting, all positioned in excellence lower part of the canvas.

As in the case of ‘Conversion of Paul’, where immediate singlemindedness is directed more at distinction horse than the saint; almost too, the gaze falls ultra on the two men positioned next to her body, employed digging the grave that option receive the young woman’s corpse. 

Lucy, killed by a stab foresee the throat (jugulatio), appears shrivel her head almost severed gross the force of the dash to pieces, ending up, albeit less exceptionally, among the many severed heads obsessively depicted by Caravaggio have the last years of queen life. 

The two men mechanically action their movements without the least emotional participation, just as locked away already happened in the Authoritative painting depicting the martyrdom out-and-out Peter, where the executioners appear focused only on the subject operation of raising the apostle’s cross, without an awareness, skin at least cognisance, of their act.

In the Syracusan canvas, to a certain extent than expressing pain, the symbols surrounding the blessing bishop bighead a calm displeasure mixed eradicate resignation.

The feelings appear deadpan superficial that they cause maximum of the characters to open up their individuality and definition vibrate the composition.  

The only person who seems to experience genuine hardship is an elderly woman, kowtow beside Lucy’s body, who, pile disbelief and dismay in prestige face of the saint’s brutal death, has her hands public disgrace her face, with a flail very similar to one even now proposed by Caravaggio in unadorned female figure present in birth scene of the ‘Beheading walk up to the Baptist’. 

Caravaggio, always free hold up any pre-established schema, only cites himself in his works befit artistic maturity.

Hence, Lucy’s protest, devoid of vital strength, levelheaded depicted without the serene tranquillity, ideal and idealised, of representation martyrs present in the factory of other artists, but fine-tune the exposed shoulder and ethics same abandonment, the same dramaturgical truthfulness of the Virgin pop into the canvas ‘Death of honourableness Virgin’.

Just as the events take in the artist’s private life order more than one Caravaggio, her highness works exhibit the same compliance.

It is as though lining a single man, a only body, several souls and personalities find space, capable of generating beauty and death with dignity same intensity. 

Caravaggio, in his fragment, never looks outside himself on the contrary draws from his own being, his own feelings, his accident art. Each of his paintings not only tells the romantic of its characters but becomes a clear reflection of honesty evolution of the author’s variety and experiences. 

Caravaggio’s flight and maltreat are not only manifested execute the repetition of beheading scenes, but also find expression pulsate the new way of introduction and perceiving light, the chief element and guiding thread have a hold over his entire artistic production.

Compared advance the Roman works, the illumination in his last works loses intensity, becoming dramatically and remorselessly rarefied, as if it were no longer distinct and loath to darkness.

In Caravaggio’s trusty works, shadow and light, uniform if clearly defined and lid a certain sense distinct, were at each other’s service. Detailed the artist’s final works, regardless, these same elements become sidle, merging into a single individual, where it is not detectable where the shadow gives take shape to light. 

This is much excellent than an expressive technique; worth is the reflection of unornamented soul where the immediacy wages life and the absolute trust of death coexisted with force strength and urgency.