Four-hundred years after his death, Caravaggio is still at the centre of the debates of art critics and historians from all over the world. In the year dedicated to the master who was able to “give light to darkness”, an event is reinforcing the intellectual diatribe by presenting to the public one of his most important subjects. Indeed, the exhibition Caravaggio? The enigma of the two Saint Francis, on view until 5th September in the ancient church of San Francesco della Scarpa in Lecce, presents two identical paintings portraying the “poor saint from Assisi”, which differ only for some shades of colour.
Which of the two Saint Francis in Meditation is the authentic Caravaggio is still an enigma. The question which scholars have so far failed to answer is if both works were realised by the “damned” genius, who throughout his career did realise many “double works”, or if one of them was completed by one of Caravaggio’s followers. The dispute has been going on since 1968, when a second painting of Saint Francis – at first glance identical to the one kept in the church of the Capuchin Friars in Rome – was discovered in the church of San Pietro in Carpineto Romano. After forty years, the various studies dedicated to Caravaggio’s two works have not been enough to solve the intriguing mystery which is now being proposed to the curiosity and consideration of the visitors of the exhibition in Lecce.
Creator and curator of the project is Ruggero Dimiccoli, who came up with the idea of organising an exhibition dedicated to Caravaggio’s two works at the Government Palace in Bari, when in 2006 the two paintings, owned by the Fund Buildings of Worship of the Ministry of the Interior, were displayed for the first time, together with other masterpieces, at the exhibition La gioielleria di Dio. “It was on that occasion – Dimiccoli said – that I realised how much curiosity, doubts and interest was stirred by the two Saint Francis in meditation placed next to each other among the other works. I started asking art experts and critics questions, and got different but all interesting answers. In the end I came to the conclusion that it was not possible to give a definitive answer regarding the attribution of the paintings, but only make authoritative hypotheses”.
The exhibition at San Francesco della Scarpa – which also has an exhaustive didactic display relative to the stylistic differences between the two works and to the restoration and investigation techniques used to verify their attribution – aims to raise questions about the reliability of the tools used to allocate the authenticity of an art work.
And with regard to this, the two Saint Francis offer the opportunity to follow a debate which is still open, a chance for the public to be art critics for a day.
The exhibition presents an interesting case of uncertain attribution, with the purpose of contributing to the debate on issues which for now remain open with regard to the “double works” and the numerous existing copies of Caravaggio’s paintings: for instance, the original copy of Ragazzo morso da un ramarro (Boy bitten by a lizard) is kept at the Longhi Foundation in Florence, while the copy of a student is at the London National Gallery; La Cena di Emmaus (The Supper of Emmaus), of which there are two copies, both attributed to Caravaggio but realised at different times, L’Incoronazione di Spine (the Crowning of Thorns), of which there are three versions all attributed to the Lombard master, and finally the sensational case of Cattura di Cristo (the Capture of Christ) – of which there are twelve copies – kept at the Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, whose authenticity was questioned many times and recognised only in 1990.
Leaving aside the academic disputes, the two paintings portraying Saint Francis definitely have Caravaggio’s imprint in their layout, an empty space which denies the perspective certainties of the Renaissance, and which the subject emerges from thanks to a skilful use of chiaroscuro effects. A Saint Francis who is deeply concentrated in his prayers, in accordance with the devotional precepts of the Counter-Reformation, from which a pure and genuine religiosity emerges, with an interest in details: a skull and a cross, undisputed iconographies which represent the fear of the transiency of life.
The exhibition Caravaggio? The enigma of the two Saint Francis is articulated in three different sections. The first illustrates and recounts the restoration, the cataloguing and the investigation techniques for the attribution of the works. The second presents the paintings, while in the third part, curated by the director of the Castromediano Museum Antonio Cassiano and by the Superintendent Fabrizio Vona, comprises important works from Caravaggio’s school present in Puglia and other problematic paintings, among which the Decapitation of Sant’Agapito, which comes from the Roman town of Palestrina. Moreover, there is a restoration laboratory where visitors can observe the techniques used on Caravaggio’s paintings and ask the restorers questions.
Until 5th September 2010
Caravaggio? The enigma of the two Saint Francis
Chiesa di San Francesco della Scarpa
Via Giuseppe Palmieri 6 – 73100 Lecce
Tel. 0832683503
Web: www.provincia.le.it
Email: urp@provincia.le.it
Free entrance
Tags: Caravaggio, San Francesco della Scarpa, Saint Francis in Meditation, He Sen, Ruggero Dimiccoli, Caravaggio? The enigma of the two Saint Francis
|
Loading ...
Lecce, The Enigma Of Caravaggio’S Two ‘San Francesco’ (from the Arcadia Magazine) « CARAVAGGIO400
Friday 6 August 2010
[...] Lecce, The Enigma Of Caravaggio’S Two ‘San Francesco’ (from the Arcadia Magazine) Four-hundred years after his death, Caravaggio is still at the centre of the debates of art critics and historians from all over the world. In the year dedicated to the master who was able to “give light to darkness”, an event is reinforcing the intellectual diatribe by presenting to the public one of his most important subjects. Indeed, the exhibition Caravaggio? The enigma of the two Saint Francis, on view until 5th September in the ancient church of San Francesco della Scarpa in Lecce, presents two identical paintings portraying the “poor saint from Assisi”, which differ only for some shades of colour. Which of the two Saint Francis in Meditation is the authentic Caravaggio is still an enigma. The question which scholars have so far failed to answer is if both works were realised by the “damned” genius, who throughout his career did realise many “double works”, or if one of them was completed by one of Caravaggio’s followers. The dispute has been going on since 1968, when a second painting of Saint Francis – at first glance identical to the one kept in the church of the Capuchin Friars in Rome – was discovered in the church of San Pietro in Carpineto Romano. After forty years, the various studies dedicated to Caravaggio’s two works have not been enough to solve the intriguing mystery which is now being proposed to the curiosity and consideration of the visitors of the exhibition in Lecce. Creator and curator of the project is Ruggero Dimiccoli, who came up with the idea of organising an exhibition dedicated to Caravaggio’s two works at the Government Palace in Bari, when in 2006 the two paintings, owned by the Fund Buildings of Worship of the Ministry of the Interior, were displayed for the first time, together with other masterpieces, at the exhibition La gioielleria di Dio. “It was on that occasion – Dimiccoli said – that I realised how much curiosity, doubts and interest was stirred by the two Saint Francis in meditation placed next to each other among the other works. I started asking art experts and critics questions, and got different but all interesting answers. In the end I came to the conclusion that it was not possible to give a definitive answer regarding the attribution of the paintings, but only make ….. READ MORE ON THE “ARCADIA MAGAZINE” [...]
Tweets that mention LECCE, THE ENIGMA OF CARAVAGGIO’S TWO ‘SAN FRANCESCO’ -- Topsy.com
Friday 20 August 2010
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Angelica Di Chiara, AngelicaDC. AngelicaDC said: CARAVAGGIO http://www.arcadja.com/artmagazine/en/2010/08/03/lecce-the-enigma-of-caravaggio%e2%80%99s-two-%e2%80%98san-francesco%e2%80%99/ [...]