CIMA DA CONEGLIANO”S ST JOHN THE BAPTIST
November 30th 2019
“St John the Baptist with Sts Peter, Mark, Jerome and Paul”, Church of Madonna dell’ Orto, Venice. 1493-5, Giovanni Batista Cima, known as Cima da Conegliano. This very beautiful work remains in the location for which it was painted. This
CARAVAGGIO’S THE CROWNING WITH THORNS
November 23rd 2019
“The Crowning with Thorns”, Caravaggio, 1602/03, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Vienna. When I saw this painting for the first time what struck me most was the force of the downward thrust exerted by the soldiers. In 1638, this painting is listed
CARAVAGGIO’S CRUCIFIXION OF ST PETER
November 16th 2019
“The Crucifixion of St Peter”, Carravaggio, 1602, Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome. In September 1600, Tiberio Cerasi commissioned two paintings from Caravaggio to decorate the side walls of a chapel he had acquired in the Church of Santa
CARAVAGGIO’S MARY MAGDALENE
November 8th 2019
“Mary Magdalene”, Caravaggio, 1595/96, Gallerie, Doria Pamphilji, Rome. Were you not given the title you might have thought that this is a young woman who has returned in a bad mood from the local swish party! Her accessories lie on
GUERCINO’S MARY MAGDALENE AND TWO ANGELS
November 2nd 2019
“The Penitent Magdalene with Two Angels”, Guercino, c. 1622, Pinacoteca Vaticana. In John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb early and alone on the first day of the week and finds it empty (Jn 20:1). Yet the two angels
CARRAVAGGIO’S THE ENTOMBMENT
October 25th 2019
“The Entombment”, Carravaggio, 1602-04, Vatican Museums. This altarpiece was originally intended for a side chapel dedicated to the pietà in the newly rebuilt Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella (commonly known as the Chiesa Nouva) which was the Church of
GUERCINO’S ST LUKE DISPLAYING A PAINTING OF THE VIRGIN
October 12th 2019
“Saint Luke Displaying a Painting of the Virgin”, Guercino, 1652-53, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City. Originally painted for the Church of San Francesco in Reggio Emilia, this work was in the collections of the Spencer family from the
CARAVAGGIO’S ST MATTHEW AND THE ANGEL
October 12th 2019
“St Matthew and the Angel”, Caravaggio, 1602, formerly Kaiser-Friedrich Museum Berlin, destroyed by fire in1945. Some time after he had completed his “Call of St Matthew” and “Martyrdom of St Matthew” for the lateral walls of the Contarelli Chapel
CARAVAGGIO’S MADONNA OF THE ROSARY
October 5th 2019
“Madonna of the Rosary”, Caravaggio, 1604/05, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Vienna. There are no less than four Dominicans in this painting, but only two can be identified. St Dominic is on the left and St Peter Martyr is on the right.
CARAVAGGIO’S ST JEROME IN VALLETTA
September 28th 2019
“St Jerome” 1607/08, Caravaggio, Museum of St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta. St Jerome (c.342-420) was a scholarly priest whose life of prayer and penance led to him being recognised as a saint. His translation of the bible into Latin, known
