Todd and I are back in Rome for a holiday. We're staying in an apartment in Camp die Firori - close enough to where we stayed last time for things to feel familiar, but far enough away to still discover new things.
Since this is my fourth trip to Rome (5th? Ginger, did we go to Rome way back when?), I decided I needed a project to keep me occupied. So I pulled out all my notes from Dr. Goode's Baroque class, bought a thick book on Caravaggio and decided I would go see every Caravaggio painting in Rome.
A little research showed there are 26 Caravaggio painting still in Rome. Three of those are in private collections, leaving 23 scattered across Roman museums and churches to find. Today I visited four, one, the lesser known Madonna of Loreto, in the San't Agostino Church, which at first glance doesn't even look much like a Caravaggio. It's missing the intense colors we normally associate with his work, but only when you look at it straight on. I don't know how he did it, but when you look at the painting from the right-hand side, as you would if you were leaving the church, it comes alive with the vibrancy and richness you expect to see in his work.
Todd and I then walked a few blocks to San Luigi de Francesci to see Caravaggio's St. Matthew series in the Contrelli Chapel. Here, in situ, is hands down my favorite Caravaggio painting. Hanging in the center is a depiction of Matthew writing his gospel, with a bossy little angle hovering over his shoulder telling him what he should write. Matthew doesn't look so pleased to have the help.
I find this painting whimsical and joyful. It never fails to put a smile on my face.
Caravaggio had two other paintings in the chapel. One was the Calling of St. Matthew, where Matthew gives a dubious - are you talking to me - gesture as Christ points to him (with a copy of the pointed finger that Michaelangelo created for Adam in the Sistine Chapel). And the Martydom of St. Matthew in which he slips in a self-portrait.
From there we crossed the Tiber to go to the Vatican Museums. From past experience we made reservations for the evening entry - fewer crowds to contend with. But what I didn't realize is that they don't open all the galleries for the evening entry. And the one gallery that was closed was the one with the only Caravaggio in the entire four miles of the Vatican Museum - Entombment. I'm not sure I'll make it back for that one on this trip.
So 4 down, 1 miss and 18 to go.
P.S. I saw two off duty priests today and two nuns.
Since this is my fourth trip to Rome (5th? Ginger, did we go to Rome way back when?), I decided I needed a project to keep me occupied. So I pulled out all my notes from Dr. Goode's Baroque class, bought a thick book on Caravaggio and decided I would go see every Caravaggio painting in Rome.
A little research showed there are 26 Caravaggio painting still in Rome. Three of those are in private collections, leaving 23 scattered across Roman museums and churches to find. Today I visited four, one, the lesser known Madonna of Loreto, in the San't Agostino Church, which at first glance doesn't even look much like a Caravaggio. It's missing the intense colors we normally associate with his work, but only when you look at it straight on. I don't know how he did it, but when you look at the painting from the right-hand side, as you would if you were leaving the church, it comes alive with the vibrancy and richness you expect to see in his work.
Todd and I then walked a few blocks to San Luigi de Francesci to see Caravaggio's St. Matthew series in the Contrelli Chapel. Here, in situ, is hands down my favorite Caravaggio painting. Hanging in the center is a depiction of Matthew writing his gospel, with a bossy little angle hovering over his shoulder telling him what he should write. Matthew doesn't look so pleased to have the help.
I find this painting whimsical and joyful. It never fails to put a smile on my face.
Caravaggio had two other paintings in the chapel. One was the Calling of St. Matthew, where Matthew gives a dubious - are you talking to me - gesture as Christ points to him (with a copy of the pointed finger that Michaelangelo created for Adam in the Sistine Chapel). And the Martydom of St. Matthew in which he slips in a self-portrait.
From there we crossed the Tiber to go to the Vatican Museums. From past experience we made reservations for the evening entry - fewer crowds to contend with. But what I didn't realize is that they don't open all the galleries for the evening entry. And the one gallery that was closed was the one with the only Caravaggio in the entire four miles of the Vatican Museum - Entombment. I'm not sure I'll make it back for that one on this trip.
So 4 down, 1 miss and 18 to go.
P.S. I saw two off duty priests today and two nuns.
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| At the Vatican Museum |
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| In the Matisse Gallery at the Vatican Museums |
So glad you are sharing!! And no, we didn't visit Rome back in the old days when we were poor and only ate at linen-free restaurants abroad...
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