The situation in the grave by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

The situation in the grave by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

About the life of most artists and other famous personalities, we learn from notes and books written by contemporaries, historians and friends. In the case of Michelangelo Merisi and Caravaggio, however, we receive this knowledge, mainly from police reports. Of these, it is easy to understand that the artist had a complex character. Also, Aggressive Caravaggio could be cruel, and arrested for attack. In addition to participating in bloody fights, the police archives kept records of the illegal carrying of weapons. In the end, the painter committed a murder and spent several years on the run from the law.

After carrying the cross to Calvary and the crucifixion, some of the followers of Christ take the body off the cross and place it in the coffin.

One of the first things that can be noticed in the style of Caravaggio is the deathly darkness. This is the so-called dark style. The artist tried to make a scene, the events of which occur at night, the figures seem to be illuminated by a giant searchlight, which is reflected in other pictures.

The painting has no background. Only darkness. There are no architectural creations, a landscape, as a result of which the viewer is focused on the figures of the foreground. Light effects work on dramatic, we can see very expressive contrasts of light and dark. In other words, the dark shadows are in close proximity to the area of bright illumination, without a smooth transition.

All characters are located as close as possible. Look at the body of Christ, we literally feel that it can touch us. The tomb’s protrusion is shortened, it seems that it enters our “space”. A similar effect can be observed on the elbow belonging to the figure holding Jesus ha ha. One of the features of baroque art is the fine line between our world and the picture, achieved using specific angles and playing light.

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