THE AURA OF LIFE: UNVEILING THE CINEMATIC ART OF CARAVAGGIO

In July 1607, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio arrived in Malta, a fugitive from the papal state, and, in the 15 months he was here, he created monumental works which are breath-taking in their scope and imagination. Here, REBECCA ANASTASI speaks to PROF. KEITH SCIBERRAS, from the Department of Art History at the University of Malta, and the island’s resident expert on the artist, to discover what makes Caravaggio’s works revolutionary.

The early 17th century in Europe was a time of shifting sands, and the assertion of dogmatic power. England had just mourned the passing of the iconic monarch Queen Elizabeth I, who died in 1603, while, in Rome, Pope Paul V upheld the dominance of the church through emphatic rule. In Malta, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John had firmly established itself, having arrived in 1530. It was also a time of scientific progress, which, somewhat, served as a counterpoint to religious creed: Galileo Galilei’s planetary discoveries, and his emphasis on mathematics to solve the mysteries of nature, would pave the way for a full acceptance of a heliocentrism.

In art, the Baroque movement offered an intense visual experience of the divine, challenging it and bringing it down to the streets. Michelangelo Merisi, born in the Lombard town of Caravaggio, which gave him his nom de pinceau, was at the heart of this artistic genre. His arrival in Malta in 1607, fleeing Rome following a fight which resulted in the death of a young man, left a lasting impact which reverberated not only on the island, but across the artistic world.

“Few are the artists, in the entire story of art, who single-handedly changed the course of history,” says Professor Keith Sciberras, from the Department of Art History at the University of Malta. “Usually, a particular artistic style is changed though the effort of a number of individuals over a long stretch of time. But Caravaggio managed to revolutionise the evolution of art, over the course of only approximately 15 years, from the 1590s until his death in 1610.” Indeed, Prof. Sciberras continues, Caravaggio’s impact is still felt today, and across all creative forms, including the seventh art, film, since early cinematography was inspired by the realism of his work, as well as his articulation of the chiaroscuro

“Caravaggio was a naturalist artist. He painted what he saw, but his work goes beyond the natural, by depicting the deep tragedies of humankind. He did not just paint his subjects, but he injected that subject with an aura of life itself,” Prof. Sciberras elaborates, adding that the protagonists of his art were those he encountered in his day-to-day life; the people on the streets. “He painted reality because he lived that reality. He was deeply immersed in the tragedies of poverty, and he sought to find the spirituality within the actions of the poor.”

In this way, he broke away from the traditions of the religious art of his day. “In Christian art, the classical notion, which was found in antiquity and through to the Renaissance, was rooted in the representation of the Ideal. In other words, there were established iconographical parameters on painting the Madonna, for instance. The Madonna was deemed to be so perfect, that you could not find her in nature. However, Caravaggio rejected this belief. He posed the question: why can’t a woman living on the streets of Rome represent the Madonna? This caused a stir since the authorities of the day saw his approach as a challenge towards the artistic hegemony of what church art was thought to be.”

In his work, Caravaggio never compromised and never relented, Prof. Sciberras attests. “He pursued his artistic vision, despite the controversy that his life and paintings created. He was a rebel in the sense that he actively and intellectually challenged the parameters of ‘official art’,” he continues. This made him many enemies, both within the artistic community itself, as well as with powerful figures, some of whom were his patrons. “There are stories where Caravaggio reveals these major canvases, they’re displayed on altars in Rome, but are pulled down on the instructions of cognoscenti who take offence at what they deemed vulgar. Despite this, he did not back down, but he continued to pursue his philosophical approach and its stylistic elaboration. In many ways, Caravaggio should be considered as one of the greatest of modern painters for he produced art for himself, as an expression of himself, without making compromises as a result of pressure from the establishment.”

The turbulent circumstances of the artist’s life may have also impacted the reception of his work both then, and now, in the present day. “Caravaggio arrived here in Malta as a fugitive from papal Rome. He came to an island where the Grand Master was actually subject to the Pope, so, technically, he should have been arrested as soon as he stepped foot here and sent back. But, the story of Caravaggio in Malta becomes one in which the power of his brush becomes stronger than the circumstances of his lifestyle. The Knights of Malta became his new protectors; they saw him as an artistic genius and were happy to negotiate with the Pope, on his behalf, for an eventual pardon.”

Caravaggio was only in Malta for 15 months, but, in that time, he painted a number of works: the monumental The Beheading of St John the Baptist (1608) and Saint Jerome Writing (1607), which are both still here on the island; Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page (1608) which is housed at the Louvre in Paris; as well as Portrait of Fra Antonio Martelli (1608) and Sleeping Cupid (1608) which are both housed at Palazzo Pitti in Florence.

“I have no problem with saying that what happened in Malta in 1608, the year during which Caravaggio contributed these works, was one of the greatest humanist moments in the story of Maltese art. This was when the Knights of Malta protected art, and sought to celebrate it, despite the clear difficulties which the artist’s personal life presented. But, they saw Caravaggio’s work as a means by which their role as patrons would be glorified,” Prof. Sciberras states.

The Beheading of St John the Baptist, housed in the Oratory of St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, is one of Caravaggio’s most poignant and powerful works, Prof. Sciberras shares. “This is a site-specific picture, meaning it was always planned to be positioned at the Oratory and this is where it is homed till this day. So, this gives us added value since we can directly relate to the artist and the way in which he wanted us to experience the protagonist of his work, within the setting of this church.”

And, while The Beheading exhibits the gritty realism which characterised much of Caravaggio’s works, it is more than the sum of its parts. “The Beheading is not a work which should remain bound to the physical eye, so to speak, but it’s a work which needs to be experienced. The representation is heartrending in its realism. And you need to see this work with your mind’s eye, and think about its philosophical, religious, historical and cultural contexts; The Beheading says much more than what is immediately visible. It’s not a decorative picture, but it possesses an aura which anchors the spectator within the visual customs of the period during which it was produced. It seems as though the execution is happening on a theatre stage. Now, we should also keep in mind how early 17th century audiences would have seen this, and not how we do, 400 years later. We should keep in mind that they would never have seen anything so realistic, and on such a scale. This is why works of art need to be seen contextually, by truly understanding the period in which they were produced,” Prof. Sciberras insists.

This is the only painting Caravaggio actually signed, Prof. Sciberras explains. “He signed the work as Frater Michelangelo, in the blood of John, and he did not do this as the work’s artist – he never actually felt the need to sign his works – but he did this as a Knight. This marks a very important moment in his life for he arrived in Malta as a fugitive seeking protection, and, just a year later, he was accepted and given a Knighthood.” Caravaggio’s talent was his ticket towards acceptance, for his work was admired by powerful patrons who “went beyond their call of duty to protect him,” Prof. Sciberras says, adding that, had he lived longer, he would have surely been given a Papal pardon.

Within the Oratory, Prof. Sciberras points to the power of Saint Jerome Writing, which he says, also epitomises the revolutionary work of Caravaggio. “This painting is a typical quadro di galleria – a gallery picture made for a private home – and it was, indeed, made for one of his protectors, a Knight called Ippolito Malaspina. This was a very powerful name on the island, and the two were very well acquainted. Saint Jerome represents this patron in some ways: he is depicted as a realist, elderly figure, with his sagging flesh and his beaten, sunken forehead. But, this figure is given the dignity of a great scholar, and this is what made Caravaggio special – his ability and desire to go beyond established norms.”

Sadly, Caravaggio’s stay in Malta came to a quick end when, in 1608, he was involved in another fight, which left another Knight wounded. Caravaggio was arrested and thrown into prison at Fort St Angelo. However, just two weeks later, he escaped, only to emerge in Sicily, in the town of Syracuse where, once again, he was welcomed for his star power. “When faced with a double fugitive, what did the authorities there in Syracuse do? They fetched their largest canvas and asked him to paint the patron saint of the city for their church, the most venerated place they possessed.”