Caravaggio, The Death of the Virgin
Submitted by pjo on Thu, 03/29/2012 - 00:32A wonderful example of Caravaggios work! The dark room with its bright contrasting highlights in classic chiaroscuro style. Its tenebrism is evident in the swaths of light and dark that play over the figures simultaneously highlighting them and expressing the sadness of the moment.. I think the most obvious trait of Italian Baroque art in this piece is its spectacular, if moody, theatricality. Even though the scene is somber it is set in large room with a richly colored cloth draped above the central figures. The complex layout of the numerous figures offers a marked contrast to the calculated, orderly and balances approach of the typical renaissance school of thought. Overall I love the way Caravaggios works seem to push out of the deep darkness making them surprisingly engaging and offering the perfect foundation for dramatic light effects that would otherwise seem excessive.
