Caravaggio. The contemporary

Follow-up meeting on the exhibition Caravaggio. Il contemporaneo (Caravaggio. The contemporary) thanks to which visitors have the opportunity to admire the Burial of Saint Lucy in the flesh. This painting is the oldest Sicilian work by Michelangelo Merisi (AKA Caravaggio) and is currently on loan from its usual home in the church of Santa Lucia alla Badia in Syracuse.

After being condemned to death by beheading and spending time on the run, Caravaggio escaped from Malta in 1608 and fled to Syracuse. It was here that he painted the Burial of Saint Lucy for the main altar in the church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro, right where the saint was supposedly martyred. The painting appears to be set in the murky caves beneath the church, in which the martyr's tomb is located. It is an imposing canvas completed by a mature Caravaggio, who was obsessed with the idea of beheading at the time, and was a master in composing increasingly silent, spiritual paintings.

The seventeenth-century masterpiece is exhibited among a selection of contemporary works and photographs, encouraging new conversations and emphasising Caravaggio's spiritual relevance.

The exhibition offers a comparison between this masterpiece and a selection of works by the master of Italian Informalism: Alberto Burri. In a constant dialogue between images, symbols and similarities, it is completed by a large painting entitled I naufraghi by Cagnaccio di San Pietro, works by the artist Nicola Verlato and photographer Massimo Siragusa, and a few shots that focus on the life and death of Pier Paolo Pasolini.

The exhibition itinerary is retraced through images that illustrate the works and highlight comparisons and connections between past and present, between ancient and contemporary art.

The schedule with all events, including workshops and activities organised by the museum's Education Area is available online

Source: http://www.mart.trento.it/caravaggio

facebook martrovereto 

instagram martmuseum 

twitter mart_museum