Caravaggio and his legacy

Excellent days’ workshop at the National Gallery looking at the work of Caravaggio and how other artists were influenced by it led by Sian Walters.

In the morning we looked at the life and work of Caravaggio and how innovative it was in its own day. We looked at the main works and talked about how his circumstances at any given time may have affected them. We then looked at his influence on others both in his own life time and in the years soon after his death using works in the current “Beyond Caravaggio” exhibition at this gallery.

In the afternoon we looked at a group of Dutch artists called the Utrecht Caravaggisti who visited Rome in the early 17th century and saw Caravaggio works. They took the ideas back to the Netherlands and how they are also responsible from the idea  of showing a candle as the source of light which Caravaggio did not do. We talked about their work and their patrons.

We finished the day with the wonderful story of how the “Taking of Christ” which is on loan to the current show from Dublin was rediscovered. It was really interesting to hear about the research work which traced it from the family who commissioned it to the monastery in Dublin where it was found.