Michelangelo Merisi, called Caravaggio, Italian, 1571-1610
"Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness", 1604-1605
The Proclamation of John the BaptistCOLLECT:
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,*
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight” ’,
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with* the Holy Spirit.’
Mark 1:1-8
God for whom we watch and wait, you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son: give us courage to speak the truth, to hunger for justice, and to suffer for the cause of right, with Jesus Christ our Lord.Collect from the Church of England website.
UPDATE: I seem to be two weeks ahead in my lectionary readings. I can't think how that happened, but John the Baptist stays. I may have different plans two weeks from now. Everything happens for a reason, right?
Renz, isn't that the most gorgeous painting? I saw it at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City. As soon as I looked, I was so taken with it that I gasped audibly.
ReplyDeleteHuh: not how I picture J the B in my mind (but maybe the sort of beautiful boy Caravaggio favored? ;-) I didn't know "Caravaggio" was a nickname, either! What's it mean? "Dear Vagabond" or something?)
ReplyDeleteWhat's his technique called (Rembrandt used it, too)? Oscuro, or something like that?
[JCF's Art Ignorance is Endless... Is Counterlight around?]
JCF, here's a biography. Apparently, his paintings are Baroque. The technique is tenebrism. His "Supper at Emmaus" is another of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteIf you can imagine flipping on the lights in that painting, then all you get is a skinny dirty Roman teenager with dirty nails. The dramatic lighting is everything, and it really works.
ReplyDeleteCaravaggio was attacked in his day for lowering sacred subject matter to the level of the Roman gutter. There were others (like Bernini and Rubens) who admired him for his sense of theater, and for bringing the streetlife of 17th century Rome into sacred subject matter.
Chiaroscuro and tenebrism are both right, but tenebrism is exaggerated light and dark for expressive effect, and very appropriate for Caravaggio.
ReplyDeleteCounterlight, I got something right! I had to look it up. I believe it was the exaggerated light and dark to such wonderful dramatic effect that so startled me when I first saw the painting.
ReplyDelete