Howard Hibbard's "Caravaggio"

1889 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of art history

Howard Hibbard's Caravaggio is an insightful look into the troubled mind and life of one of the most discussed artists of all time, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Hibbard immediately expands on his belief that Caravaggio is the most important "Italian painter of the entire seventeenth century." Furthermore, his paintings "speak to us more personally and more poignantly than any others of the time." Caravaggio is an artist whose life was far different from all other contemporary artists of his time, or any time. Unlike Annibale Carracci, Caravaggio's works were able to express many of his own feelings and emotions. As Hibbard says, Caravaggio was an artist who "somehow cut through the artistic conventions of his time right down to the universal blood and bone of life." Simply put, Caravaggio was the only Italian painter who was able to utilize his own emotion as his guide instead of the historical artistic tradition. This observation by Hibbard feels somewhat misleading. Clearly, the emotion of Caravaggio's works came out in full explosiveness throughout his years of painting. However, his lifestyle was so troubling that it seems to me that it would have been virtually impossible for him to prevent his life from entering his works. While it should be recognized that Caravaggio's emotion and difficult life is reflected in many of his paintings, it should also be noted that this may have been unintentional and only a side effect of his life. Here is a many who frequently got into trouble with law and killed at least one man in his lifetime. He was arrested almost countless times. Therefore, it seems unfair to me for Hibbard to describe Caravaggio as an ...

... middle of paper ...

...he production of religious works. He never ceased to produced works which pleased with each project more splendid than the previous one. Hibbard even says that Bernini was one of the "rare prodigies who continued to grow in artistic stature after he reached maturity." His ability to convey the story of the sculpture as well as the religious meaning helped him become the most talented artist of his time. From the time he was a teenager, he charged forward on a path of unrivaled skill and talent. Furthermore, his dedication to the Church and the rules set forth by the Council of Trent gave him the status of the most popular artist, especially within the church. Sadly, the fact that Bernini was not a rebellious as previous great artists such as Leonardo and Michelangelo have prevented him from becoming as famous as those artists today.

Show More
Related

  • Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes: An Example of the Baroque Era and Its Art

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Baroque era was born out of the Roman Catholic Church’s Counter Reformation, during which the church made considerable efforts to strengthen the relationship between the secular world and the religious order. In an effort to engage the common people and create piety, the Catholic Church wanted art to appeal to human emotions. Gentileschi successfully accomplishes this in her painting, Judith Slaying Holofernes. By infusing the Apocryphal tale of Judith with dramatic techniques such as chiaroscuro and foreshortening, she created a deeply moving and realistic piece of art that engages the viewer physically and emotionally, which is quintessential to the Baroque style.

    Read More

  • Catullus On Roman Life

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    Catullus was an deviation from the typical Roman way of life. He represented the later emergence of more expressive and emotional works of art that originate from personal feelings and experiences of the artist. As a man out of his time, he may have appeared abnormal to his peers. However, as the values of mankind have evolved, emotion and passion are now considered necessary to the formation of true art. Although he may have been rejected and in his own time, his expressive style has influenced modern poets and encouraged the inclusion of emotion in

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    Painters like Cecco del Caravaggio, Orazio Gentileschi and his little girl, Artemisia Gentileschi, or Grammatica, who knew Caravaggio by and by, had the advantage of direct contact with the wellspring of their motivation, however their work holds a character all its own.

    Read More

  • John Rupert Martin's "Baroque"

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nbsp;As Martin describes, this work is "at once a masterpiece of dramatic narrative and an exercise in archaeological correctness;  attitudes, costumes and furnishings...studied from the Antique."  Carracci's ability to paint works such as this enabled him to become one of the more popular artists of the time.

    Read More

  • Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio)

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    Caravaggio was a man who liked trouble. A man whose life seemed to revolve around two things, painting and causing trouble. Luckily he had the protection of exalted patrons because he needed it, he had many enemies. He was not only protected by these patrons but also generously paid for his artwork. Sometimes for these people, and many times for others, he painted some of the most moving religious pictures, and he will forever be remembered for them. Aside from his violent behavior Caravaggio had many qualities, most having to do with art, but qualities just the same. Then again it could have very well be due to his well-known choice of lifestyle that made him popular and wanted for his artwork by so many. None the less Caravaggio was an extraordinary artist, who will be remembered for much longer than he was alive.

    Read More

  • Michelangelo: The Renaissance Mastermind

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    His artwork took sculptures and paintings to another level. While he was sculptor and a painter, he also was a poet. One of my personal favorite quotes by him is, “the greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it”. Michelangelo is saying that we settle; we do not push ourselves. We find contentment in not making a change or challenging the world, but we are okay with hiding behind the norm. Michelangelo did not settle. He performed to his best ability, and he left the world

    Read More

  • Giovanni Bellini

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    As his career continued, Bellini became known for his landscapes and naturalistic depiction of light. Giovanni founded the Venetian school of painting, and lived to see his students succeed and even some of them become more famous than he himself was. His life ended in Venice in 1516, but his contributions to Renaissance art would live forever. Bellini brought a new level of realism and nature to art, innovative subject matter, and a new sensuousness in both form and color. Giovanni’s personal attitudes and styles predetermined the special nature of Venic...

    Read More

  • Art History Research Paper

    2690 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...edium; this led to his mastery of creating an altarpiece that was able to reconstruct the Early Renaissance into a painting. His meticulous placement of figures and attention to the miniscule details reflected his success as a painter that was able to turn the unpaintable, infinite reality into a finite piece of work.

    Read More

  • “The Martyrdom of St. Matthew” - Painting Analysis

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    I chose “The Martyrdom of St. Matthew” as the painting that best illustrates the baroque period. The reasons surrounding my decision are clear in Caravaggio’s painting. Here Caravaggio uses the entire canvas to illustrate complexity, flow, and chiaroscuro. The painting depicts the source of lighting to be coming from the left side of the plane. The brightest light focuses directly on Matthew’s executioner who intends to strike Matthew with an old balcanic hand weapon. Caravaggio masterfully illustrates the use of lighting by casting believable shadows. As an example, the shadow of the handle on balcanic hand weapon reflects on the executioner’s left thigh and knee. Another shadow appears on the executioner’s right inner thigh. The lighting source to the left of the executioner, the executioner, St. Matthews, the boy, the 2 observer’s bottom, right, and the fainter lighting upper left of the canvas illustrates the technique of visual movement. The lighting is placed strategically, causing visual movement within the piece. For example, the illumination of the executioner’s forearm directs my attention to the angel who appears to be handing St. Matthew a palm leaf. As a result, my eyes then focuses on the body of St. Matthew, lying on the bottom of the altar, then my eyes shifts up toward the Angle’s arm. The lighting on the angel's arm contrasted with the darkness of the palm leaf forces the viewer to look at the hand to see what St. Matthew is reaching for. The boy fleeing the scene further draws in the viewer. The two adult observers at the bottom right of the painting are illuminated but not as bright as the two main characters. Next, my attention is drawn to the man lying on the bottom steps, left side of the canv...

    Read More

  • Michelangelo

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    Michelangelo Buonarroti is arguably one of the most inspired creators in the history of art and the most potent force in the Italian High Renaissance. As a sculptor, architect, painter, and poet, he exerted a tremendous influence on his contemporaries and on subsequent Western art in general.

    Read More

  • The Lives Of The Most Excellent Sculptor And Giorgio Vasai

    1781 Words  | 4 Pages

    Interestingly, he also refers to Donatello as a ‘craftsman’. The correlation between the artist or sculptor and craftsman is an important aspect in Italian Renaissance art. The craftsman was something more than just an artist. This person was talented and considered by others in Italian Renaissance society as exceptional or as Vasari’s title suggests, ‘the most excellent’. They were also tradespeople rather than just artists. This is because they created works for other people, which often meant they expressed other people’s ideas. Through an analysis of Vasari’s biography on Donatello, this essay will explore the importance of culture in Renaissance Italian society, an examination of Vasari’s biography of Donatello as a historical document and the ways in which Vasari portrays Donatello, which ultimately was significant for future Renaissance craftsmen. This paper will analyze the life of Donatello through Vasari’s The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects to show the importance of Donatello not only as an artist but also as a

    Read More

  • Michelangelo's Motivation

    1901 Words  | 4 Pages

    The night Michelangelo Buonarroti was born, “Mercury and Venus were in the house of Jove,” says Vasari. This means that, according to a lucky star, Michelangelo could be expected to produce extraordinary works of both art and intellect. How true this turned out to be! Whether it was fate or coincidence, few haven’t heard of this world renowned and avant-garde talent. From painting to architecture and sculpture, it seems like there is nothing Michelangelo couldn’t master. Michelangelo is said to have considered himself a sculptor, but why was it then that he produced his sculpture with such a unique and striking depiction of the human body? Why did Michelangelo create such masculine forms, and was it self expression that provoked this intense artistry? There are many factors that can influence an artists creative process, but with Michelangelo the most prominent were most likely his religion, society, travels, and self perception.

    Read More

  • Michelangelo Di Ludovico Buonarroti Simoni Research Paper

    442 Words  | 1 Pages

    Michelangelo di Ludovico Buonarroti Simoni was a painter, sculptor, architect, and poet. He was born on March 6, 1475 in, Caprese, Italy. He was the 2nd born of five sons. He passed away at the age of 88 years old on February 18th, 1564. He was one of the most famous Italian Renaissance artist. He became an apprentice to a painter before studying sculpture gardens of the power in the Medici family. Michelangelo had several works in his time. His most popular sculptures were “Pieta” and “David” Some of his painting are “Sistine Chapel” and “Last Judgment” The pieta painting had showed the “Virgin Mary holding of her son Jesus after he

    Read More

  • Conception Of Vrisimilitude In Baroque Art

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    His intentions were straight forward and he wanted to show how people perceive the world and its imperfections, in many of his art work there will be depictions of everyday things we know and see. For example: fruits covered with spots and how naturally they decay, foreshortening which is used to create the illusion of well-balanced proportions by shortening things, and simple yet dramatic scenes that are mostly religious. All of these aspects combined are characteristics that create verisimilitude in Caravaggio’s paintings. On the other hand, we have the artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini who did mostly sculptures and architecture during the same baroque era. Similar to Caravaggio, Bernini focused on religious or sometimes mythological pieces of art.

    Read More

  • Art Analysis: Boy Bitten By A Lizard By Caravaggio

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever seen the painting Boy Bitten by a lizard by artist Caravaggio, which was created in 1593? If not, it is most definitely one that you need to look at, and observe. At first glance of the image, you do not really know what to think is going on. It looks as if the boy in the painting is scared or frightened of something or someone. I think that this work is about the boy in the image, and why he has such a terrible look on his face.

    Read More

More about Howard Hibbard's "Caravaggio"

Open Document