Caravaggio and the 17th Century

Held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy at Athens, the exhibition brought the public in contact with the art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and his 17th century successors.

The introvert passion of Caravaggio’s figures and his theatrical manipulation of light with the use of intense colour contrasts revolutionized painting and profoundly influenced the Italian and European art of the seventeenth century. Three of Caravaggio’s most impressive creations were presented in the exhibition: The Raising of Lazarus, Saint John the Baptist, and Sorrowful Magdalene.

Next to them, the visitor could view impressive creations by other important 17th century artists, both followers of Caravaggio’s style and representatives of other artistic tendencies: Innocento Tacconi (Saint Catherine of Alexandria), Dirck van Baburen (Saint Peter healing the cripple, Gerbit Honthorst (The stigmatization of Saint Francis of Assisi), Giovanni Battista Caracciolo or “Battistello” (Sacred Family), Frans Wouters (Mars and Venus), Jiusepe de Ribera (Ecce Homo), Francesco Guarino (Saint Agnes and Saint Lucia), Andrea Sacchi (The dream of Saint Joseph), Salvator Rosa (Landscape with soldiers and peasants) Mattia Preti (Jesus and the Canaanite woman), and Luca Giordano (Saint Francis of Paola donating the candles to the Count of Arena).

Caravaggio’s paintings came from the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina, Galleria Doria Pamphili, and a private collection at Rome. The rest of the paintings came from the collection of Banca Carime.