Caravaggio has long been regarded as a revolutionary painter by virtue of his artistic language, which has aroused interest, involvement and authentic passion in patrons, collectors, writers and simple art lovers in various periods. The purpose of these two volumes is to shed light on his pictorial methods through technical research on the twenty-two unquestionably autograph works in Rome.
Comprising entries of these twenty-two paintings, this second volume works backwards to trace the material and therefore mental process that led the artist to the creation of some of the greatest masterpieces in the history of art. The fascinating journey developed through technical research takes us from the surface to the hidden layers of the paintings by means of infrared and radiographic techniques, close-up photography and the analysis of materials. Art-historical researchers, technical art historians, conservation scientists and restorers combine to tell a multidisciplinary tale that reveals many new elements and offers an overview of this extraordinary artist’s painting in all its uniqueness and complexity.
Contents
Editors’ Note
Boy with a Basket of Fruit
Kristina Herrmann Fiore
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Conservation report
Paola Tollo
Self-Portrait as Bacchus
Kristina Herrmann Fiore
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Conservation report
Carlo Giantomassi, Donatella Zari
Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Andrea G. De Marchi
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Giulia Silvia Ghia
Penitent Magdalene
Andrea G. De Marchi
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Giulia Silvia Ghia
Fortune Teller
Sergio Guarino
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Nicola Salini
Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto
Rossella Vodret
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Conservation report
Gabriella Gaggi
The Martyrdom of St Matthew
Rossella Vodret
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Anna Maria Marcone
The Calling of St Matthew
Rossella Vodret
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Anna Maria Marcone
Judith Beheading Holofernes
Rossella Vodret
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Conservation report
Carlo Giantomassi, Donatella Zari
Conversion of St Paul
Belinda Granata
Painting technique
Claudio Falcucci
Conservation report
Valeria Merlini, Daniela Storti
St Matthew and the Angel
Rossella Vodret
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Anna Maria Marcone
St John the Baptist
Sergio Guarino
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Nicola Salini
Entombment
Alessandra Rodolfo
Painting technique
Ulderico Santamaria, Fabio Morresi, Krystina Mlynarska, Fabio Castro
Conservation report
Alessandra Zarelli
Conversion of St Paul
Maria Grazia Bernardini
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Crucifixion of St Peter
Maria Grazia Bernardini
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Conservation report
Anna Maria Brignardello, Alessandra Sorrentino
The Madonna of Loreto (Madonna of the Pilgrims)
Marco Bona Castellotti
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Conservation report
Valeria Merlini, Daniela Storti
St John the Baptist
Angela Negro
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Conservation report
Paola Tollo
Madonna dei Palafrenieri
Rossella Vodret
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Carlo Giantomassi, Donatella Zari
St Jerome Writing
Giorgio Leone
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Conservation report
Carlo Giantomassi, Donatella Zari
St Francis in Meditation
Rossella Vodret
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Carlo Giantomassi, Donatella Zari
David with the Head of Goliath
Rossella Vodret
Painting technique
Marco Cardinali
Conservation report
Paola Tollo
St John the Baptist
Rossella Vodret
Painting technique
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri
Conservation report
Carlo Giantomassi, Donatella Zari
Bibliography