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1 Caravaggio and a Neuroarthistory Of CARAVAGGIO AND A NEUROARTHISTORY OF ENGAGEMENT Kajsa Berg A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of East Anglia September 2009 © This copy of the thesis has been supplied on the condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that no quotation from the thesis, nor any information derived therefrom, may be published without the author’s prior written consent. 1 Abstract ABSTRACT John Onians, David Freedberg and Norman Bryson have all suggested that neuroscience may be particularly useful in examining emotional responses to art. This thesis presents a neuroarthistorical approach to viewer engagement in order to examine Caravaggio’s paintings and the responses of early-seventeenth-century viewers in Rome. Data concerning mirror neurons suggests that people engaged empathetically with Caravaggio’s paintings because of his innovative use of movement. While spiritual exercises have been connected to Caravaggio’s interpretation of subject matter, knowledge about neural plasticity (how the brain changes as a result of experience and training), indicates that people who continually practiced these exercises would be more susceptible to emotionally engaging imagery. The thesis develops Baxandall’s concept of the ‘period eye’ in order to demonstrate that neuroscience is useful in context specific art-historical queries. Applying data concerning the ‘contextual brain’ facilitates the examination of both the cognitive skills and the emotional factors involved in viewer engagement. The skilful rendering of gestures and expressions was a part of the artist’s repertoire and Artemisia Gentileschi’s adaptation of the violent action emphasised in Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holofernes testifies to her engagement with his painting. Victorious Cupid, St Matthew and the Angel and Doubting Thomas in Vincenzo Giustiniani’s collection show an emphasis on touch, which was crucial to the lifelikeness of the imagery, the understanding of the subject matter and the engagement of the skilled patron and his acquaintances. Empathetic engagement with Caravaggio’s religious commissions was expected. Paintings in Roman churches were made to stir the emotions as a means to instigate piety in the viewers. Training in spiritual exercises would have increased the receptivity to emotional involvement. Now, neuroscience can facilitate systematic studies of emotional and empathetic engagement. An approach based on the ‘contextual brain’ provides the tools to examine a range of context specific responses to art. 2 Contents CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................. 2 CONTENTS ................................................................................................. 3 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ..................................................................... 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................... 16 PART 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 17 1.1: ARGUMENT ...................................................................................................... 17 1.2: VIEWER ENGAGEMENT, CARAVAGGIO AND NEUROARTHISTORY: A LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................... 22 1.2.1: Defining engagement ..................................................................................... 22 1.2.2: Viewer engagement before Caravaggio ......................................................... 22 1.2.3: From Lomazzo to Le Brun ............................................................................ 25 1.2.4: The nineteenth century .................................................................................. 28 1.2.5: The rediscovery of Caravaggio ...................................................................... 29 1.2.6: Perception and viewer engagement in the twentieth century ........................ 30 1.2.7: Recent developments ..................................................................................... 34 1.3: APPROACH ....................................................................................................... 42 1.4: STRUCTURE ..................................................................................................... 46 PART 2: FRAMEWORKS ...................................................................... 49 2.1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 49 2.2: THE BRAIN ....................................................................................................... 51 2.2.1: The basic structure of the human brain.......................................................... 51 2.2.2: Neural plasticity ............................................................................................. 51 2.2.3: The neurobiology of vision ............................................................................ 54 2.2.4: The dorsal stream and seeing movement ....................................................... 57 2.2.5: Mirror neurons ............................................................................................... 58 2.2.6: Facial expressions .......................................................................................... 60 2.2.7: Pain processing .............................................................................................. 62 2.2.8: Neural plasticity of mirror neurons................................................................ 65 2.3: THE CONTEXT: ROME AROUND 1600 ...................................................... 68 2.3.1: Milan .............................................................................................................. 68 2.3.2: Population ...................................................................................................... 69 3 Contents 2.3.3: The physical renewal of the city .................................................................... 71 2.3.4: The papacy and its cardinals .......................................................................... 72 2.3.5: The Spanish ................................................................................................... 74 2.3.6: Patronage ....................................................................................................... 75 2.3.7: The Anno Santo in 1600 ................................................................................ 77 2.4: ART THEORY IN ROME, MILAN AND BOLOGNA ................................. 81 2.4.1: The Roman art world and art theory .............................................................. 81 2.4.2: Lomazzo in Milan .......................................................................................... 82 2.4.3: The Carracci and Paleotti in Bologna ............................................................ 85 2.5: CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 90 PART 3: VIEWER ENGAGEMENT: THE ARTIST .......................... 92 3.1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 92 3.1.1: The artist as a specific case ............................................................................ 92 3.1.2: Intention ......................................................................................................... 92 3.1.3: Influence ........................................................................................................ 94 3.1.4: The mind and the brain .................................................................................. 95 3.2: A NEUROARTHISTORICAL APPROACH TO MOVEMENT AND EMPATHY ................................................................................................................. 96 3.2.1: Movement ...................................................................................................... 96 3.2.2: Movement in painting .................................................................................... 98 3.2.3: Empathy ....................................................................................................... 100 3.2.4: Empathetic connections: the artist and the image........................................ 101 3.2.5: Freedberg, mirror neurons and aesthetic response ...................................... 104 3.3: CARAVAGGIO AND ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI ................................. 107 3.3.1: Caravaggio’s Life ........................................................................................ 107 3.3.2: Caravaggio’s biographers and his character ................................................ 110 3.3.3: Caravaggio and realism ............................................................................... 114 3.3.4: Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi ................................................................ 118 3.3.5: Artemisia Gentileschi: sources and character .............................................. 119 3.3.6: The Caravaggisti .......................................................................................... 123 3.4: VIEWER ENGAGEMENT; THE ARTIST – CASE STUDY 1: JUDITH BEHEADING HOLOFERNES ............................................................................... 127 3.4.1: The narrative ...............................................................................................
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