Caravaggio, still in Del Monte employ, paints…
July 1599 CE
Caravaggio, still in Del Monte employ, paints a Judith Beheading Holofernes around 1588-1599.
His works of these years, while viewed by a comparatively limited circle, have increased Caravaggio's fame with both connoisseurs and his fellow artists.
But a true reputation depends on public commissions, and for these it is necessary to look to the Church.
Already evident is the intense realism or naturalism for which Caravaggio is now famous.
He prefers to paint his subjects as the eye sees them, with all their natural flaws and defects instead of as idealized creations.
This allows a full display of Caravaggio's virtuosic talents.
This shift from accepted standard practice and the classical idealism of Michelangelo is very controversial at the time.
Not only is his realism a noteworthy feature of his paintings during this period, he has turned away from the lengthy preparations traditional in central Italy at the time.
Instead, he prefers the Venetian practice of working in oils directly from the subject—half-length figures and still life.
Caravaggio receives on July 23 his first public commission for paintings, presumably through the influence of Del Monte: he is contracted to decorate the Contarelli Chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi.
Images
Caravaggio: Judith Beheading Holofernes (598-1599) Oil on canvas, 145 cm × 195 cm (57 in × 77 in) Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome
Locations
Groups
Topics
Regions
Southwest Europe
View →Subregions
