The Enduring Influence of Caravaggio
More than a single artist, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a force that forever changed art. His style was revolutionary: using dramatic contrasts of tenebrism, a fascination with the everyday, audacious staging, and an unflinching ability to capture raw emotional intensity. These profound innovations didn't just start the Baroque movement; they ignited a fire whose influence has resonated for centuries.
While the exhibition In Caravaggio's Light explores the master's work and the art of his immediate followers during the Baroque period, Baroque Continuum picks up the story there. It traces how this profound visual language has inspired artists for centuries, demonstrating a direct line of influence to the present day.
TRACING THE CONTINUUM
This exhibition is a journey through that timeless legacy, exploring how the dynamic realism of the Baroque has inspired countless artists. We trace Caravaggio’s artistic principles—the smoky shadows, bold realism, and intense emotion—as they have rippled across time, informing subsequent movements and contemporary artists.
The works featured demonstrate how painters, printmakers, photographers, and sculptors have adapted this powerful visual language to explore the human psyche across four centuries. Thomas Anshutz engages Baroque effects in his brooding portraits, using stark light and dark to intensify psychological states. Photographer Edward Steichen employs bold juxtapositions of illumination and shadow to create dramatic focus. Contemporary artist Reza Aramesh channels Caravaggio’s striking mixture of pain and sensuality in sculptures that confront both the brutality of our species and our capacity for resilience.
Images:
1. Reza Aramesh (Iranian, active London, b. 1970), Study of the Head as Cultural Artifacts (detail), 2003, Hand carved and polished Bianco Michelangelo marble, Courtesy of the Artist and Dastan Gallery, Private Collection.
2. Thomas Anshutz (American, 1851-1912), Portrait of John C. Hensel (detail), c. 1890, oil on canvas, Museum Purchase.
3. Dianora Niccolini (American, b. Italy, b. 1936), Diptych of Male Nude Flexing Shoulder Muscles (left) (detail), photograph, Gift of the artist in memory of Elaine Augsbury Niccolini.
4. Julio Larraz (American, b. Cuba, b. 1944), Magic Eye (detail), 1989, etching and acquatint, Gift of Hannah Koch.