Carlotta de Bellis Trinity University and Artemisia December 12, 2019

Vedi Napoli e poi muori: See and Die

In 1606 Caravaggio did something that completely changed the course of his life: he killed a man. Throughout the entirety of his career, the artist was known for his explosive temper, but this irrational action was the last straw. After murdering Ranuccio Tomassoni in a tavern fight on May 29th, Caravaggio had to flee Rome, the city in which he was so well established.1 He spent his last years on the run escaping from Pope Paul V Borghese’s condemnation.2 The artist initially found refuge near Naples, where he was protected by Costanza Colonna Sforza. Then he made his way through Naples, Malta, and Sicily hoping one day to return to Rome.3 We know that Caravaggio’s Neapolitan sojourn divides itself into two different stays. The first stay in 1606-07 showcases the hospitable atmosphere he found in the city of Naples. During his second stay in 1609-10, just before his death, we encounter the artist prepared to return to Rome, having received papal pardon. During this later period, discussed more fully below, inclusion of possible self-portraits in some of the works of his Neapolitan period further demonstrate Caravaggio’s self-confidence and willingness to desist during what must have been challenging times. Caravaggio spent eighteen months in Naples, during two stays, producing six known works. The artist and the city share turbulent fame.4 Naples’ unique and mysterious charm fascinated Caravaggio, and surely the city might have given the artist inspiration for his late artistic production. Caravaggio’s character fit well with the crude reality that the city of Naples had to offer. His own body of work was not the only thing that benefited: Caravaggio was inspired by the evocative and infamous city, but his final works also left an important artistic legacy to the city of Naples and influenced its newly established pictorial school in the years to come. This period of the artist’s life is often believed to be very dark and desolate. However in Naples, the first destination of his escape journey, he found a very similar parallel to his raucous demeanor that seemed quite stimulating for the artist. Caravaggio and the city of Naples reacted to one another in a synergistic way. The 2019 exhibition Caravaggio: Napoli, which took place at the Museo di Capodimonte, was structured after this topic. This makes his Neapolitan period more significant from what it is usually considered to be. During his time in the city, he produced a considerable amount of artworks, which were private commissions either from churches or elite families, and are considered to be his late masterpieces.

1 Cassani, Silvia, and Maria Sapio. Caravaggio: the Final Years. (Napoli: Electa, 2004), 16. 2 Graham-Dixon, Andrew, and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Caravaggio : A Life Sacred and Profane. W.W. Norton, 2011. 3 Marini, Maurizio. "L'alfa E L'omega Di Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio, Pittore: Qualche Precisazione Documentaria Sulla Nascita E Sulla Morte." Artibus Et Historiae 20, no. 40 (1999): 131. 4 Marshall, Christopher R. Naples and the industry of painting: the world in the workbench. 2016. the Seicento is in fact a turbulent time in Naples as in the middle of the century there will be a revolt led by Masaniello against the Spanish viceroy.

Second Time’s a Charm

The paintings that exemplify Caravaggio’s stay in Naples and the transition of his style amidst his two Neapolitan periods are: The Flagellation (1607) at Capodimonte and The Seven Acts of Mercy 1607) of the Church of Pio Monte della Misericordia. These two paintings pertain to Caravaggio’s first stay in the city. The Martyrdom of St. Ursula (1610) at Palazzo Zevallos was executed during the artist’s second stay in the city and is considered to be his last painting. It is important to note that all three works were private commissions, and that the artist carefully crafted them for his patrons. Thus, Caravaggio responded to the needs of the art market in a very modern sense. Caravaggio’s Neapolitan period was re-evaluated in the second half of the 20th century by Roberto Longhi and Ferdinando Bologna, who wrote L’Incredulità del Caravaggio (2006). For many years it was thought that Caravaggio spent a little less than a year in the city of Naples and produced six very different paintings. However, today it is known that Caravaggio died in 1610. This confirms the existence of his second stay and doubles the amount of time that the artist spent in the city of Naples.5 This longer stay also amplifies the influence of the city on the artist and the legacy that Caravaggio left to Naples after his death. During his first period in Naples he produced three great altarpieces: The Seven Acts of Mercy, The Flagellation and The Madonna of the Rosary currently at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.6-7 These pieces diverge stylistically from one another. At first glance one could almost say they were executed by different hands. During his second period in 1610, Caravaggio, while awaiting for papal forgiveness, painted The Denial of Saint Peter at the MET, Villa Borghese’s and Martyrdom of Saint Ursula. This latter period is more cohesive in style, and is distinguishable by a pervasive dark tonality and a greater narrative concision, which become a synthesis of his pictorial vocabulary.8 There is a distinction to be made not only between Caravaggio’s first and second period in Naples, but also among some of the works of the first period that demonstrate a transformation in his figural types, given by the greater emphasis provided by a thicker impasto, and the beginning of a more intense type of darkness, which is characteristic throughout the entirety of his second Neapolitan stay.9

Mythicizing His Death

5 In the Neapolitan Exhibition of 2019 works by , Louis Finson, , Filippo Vitale artists who were very influenced by the Neapolitan Caravaggio. 6 Whitfield, Clovis, and Jane Martineau. Painting in Naples 1606-1705: From Caravaggio to Giordano. (New York, N.Y.: Alpine Fine Arts Collection, 1982), 37. 7 It was demonstrated in the 2019 Neapolitan Catalogue that Vienna’s Madonna of the Rosary was realized in Naples. Previously many scholars attributed this work to Caravaggio’s late Roman period. 8 Cassani, 2004: 142. 9 Bellori, Giovanni Pietro, Alice Sedgwick Wohl, Hellmut Wohl, and Tomaso Montanari. The lives of the modern painters, sculptors and architects. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009) Bellori in Caravaggio’s biography writes “Risentito di oscuri gagliardi servendosi assai del nero per dar rilievo a li corpi.”

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It is often said that Caravaggio died in quite a dramatic way: alone, as a fugitive, and under the blazing sun on the shore of Porto Ercole after contracting malaria. However, much information regarding his final years is speculative or even fictionalized.10 Thanks to Vincenzo Pacelli’s discoveries and translations of the archival materials today we are able to have a more accurate chronology of the time the artist spent in Naples.11 Even though Bellori, was the most comprehensive of his biographers, he only briefly mentions his stay in Naples and his first commission there. Bellori’s distance in time gave him a more ample sense of the artist's life in retrospect, but at the same time this granted him greater authorial agency in his biography. Bellori, by anticipating Caravaggio’s death by a year in 1609 - the same year of Annibale Carracci’s and Federico Zuccari’s deaths - does not cover his return to Naples for ten months.12 This altered quite significantly the reconstruction of his life, and our understanding of his final years. Perhaps, the anticipated death was an expediency used by the biographer to dramatize the event even more, making 1609 the year when the world lost three great artists.13

Caravaggio’s Heirs

Caravaggio was welcomed by Naples and had a successful career there, especially during his first stay. As Mina Gregori argues in her essay, “in the broader sense Neapolitan painters were the heirs of Caravaggio.” 14 After the artist’s death, the city’s artistic scene was attracted by the effect of Caravaggio’s mundane subject matter, and the emotional charge he imbued in each of his canvases. His influence is proven by the fact that his arrival in Naples, in 1606, marks the start of the Baroque era for the city, which is considered to end in 1705 with the death of Neapolitan painter Luca Giordano, whose master, , was influenced by Caravaggio.

10 Sohm, Philip. "Caravaggio's Deaths." The Art Bulletin 84, no. 3 (2002): 449-68. Many accounts summarize and make sense of the life of Caravaggio, and even more are written about his death. In these narratives, historical veracity is not the authors’ first concern, but rather, a story that sounds plausible and fits best with our imagination of the eccentric artist is created. Sohm wants to prove how different biographers crafted the narration of Caravaggio’s death (and consequently his life) in order to characterize how they talked about the artist’s style. These fictional verisimilitudes made his death a basis for their art criticism and understanding of the artist. 11 Pacelli, Vincenzo. Caravaggio, le sette opere di misericordia. (Salerno:1984), 10/17. 12 The Cerasi Chapel is only instance where Caravaggio and Carracci work, separately, on the same commission in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome. 13 Bellori, Giovanni. 1972: “Onde agitato miseramente da affanno e da cordoglio essendo il lido al più caldo del sole estivo, giunto a Porto Ercole si abbandonò, e sorpreso da febbre maligna, morì in pochi giorni, circa gli anni quaranta di sua vita, nel 1609, anno funesto per la pittura avendoci tolto insieme Annibale Carracci e Federico Zuccari.” 14 Gregori, Mina. 1983. “Caravaggio and Naples” in Painting in Naples 1606-1705 : From Caravaggio to Giordano. Royal Academy of Arts in association with Weidenfield and Nicolson, p 36.

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The prestige Caravaggio established for himself in Rome was fundamental in securing his first commission in Naples.15 The city at the time was growing in power, therefore Naples’ art scene was quite attractive and auspicious for an artist like Caravaggio. Local painters and art connoisseurs would have known of Caravaggio, as it is likely that some of his paintings, either originals or copies might have circulated in the southern kingdom. The uniqueness of his pictorial techniques, such as not using any preparatory sketches, painting alla prima (directly on the canvas) and mostly dal naturale (from live models) were known distinctive trademarks of the artist. However, once he arrived in the new city, his viewers were confronted only with his most radical style. Artists like Jusepe de Ribera, Battistello Caracciolo, Carlo Sellitto, and afterwards Salvator Rosa and , were considered to be his truest followers. They were all exposed to some extent to Caravaggio’s Neapolitan and late period. Caravaggio’s impact on the art world is quite remarkable considering that the artist had a very short life with a dramatic end. Sebastian Schultz, for example, unveils how Caravaggism spread quickly, identifying the conditions that favored its dispersion. Shultz also identifies the artistic qualities that other artists found so compelling to imitate.16 A native local school of painting, known as the Neapolitan School, was thus established in the Seicento in the wake of Caravaggio.17

Naples’ Fervent Art Market

It is also during the Seicento that Naples established itself as an important commercial center in the Mediterranean, making it the ideal place for artists to establish themselves.18

“To the strong-willed, like Caravaggio, Ribera, and , Naples offered a kind of freedom. The very international character of the city, in which many foreign communities maintained consulates and churches, and in which both the Spanish Habsburgs and the Roman Curia, exerted feudal rights, contributed to the lateness of the definition of a Neapolitan school.”19

This city was not for the faint of heart, but only for tenacious figures like the above mentioned artists. At the time, Naples was three times larger than Rome, and its important port had connections all over the European continent.20 Naples was truly the perfect market for this new type of naturalism that was so in vogue at the time. Although Caravaggio’s stay in Naples was quite short, the impact that he had endured for over a century through the art of Neapolitan artists, who helped propagate Caravaggism

15 G. P. Bellori, 1672 “Napoli nella qual città trovo subito impiego, essendovi già conosciuta la maniera e il suo nome.” 16 Sebastian Schütz, “Caravaggism in Europe: A Planetary System and its Gravitational Laws,” in Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome (New Haven, 2011), 26-47. 17 Whitfield, 1982: 55. 18 Whitfield, 1982: 19. 19 Cropper, Elizabeth. "Naples at the Royal Academy. London." The Burlington Magazine 125, no. 959 (1983): 104-06. 20 The 2019 Neapolitan Exhibit, underlined the importance of the Flemish Louis Finson, who was the only authorized artist to copy his works, in amplifying Caravvaggio’s reach through Europe.

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throughout Europe. Caravaggio’s emphasis on gesture and expression in his late work was very much appreciated by his Neapolitan followers, who often combined Caravaggio’s “striking intensity” with Ribera’s naturalism.21 In fact, Neapolitan artists like Caravaggio had an acute sensibility and reception towards the everyday hard reality that presented itself in the city of Naples. Many of their paintings reflected the dynamic energy and striking realism of this vibrant place but also bear witness to the experience of poverty and decay of the city during those times. It is known that Caravaggio never officially established a bottega, but in Naples he had many followers who had botteghe of their own, and by becoming successful artists they helped with the generational dissemination of Caravaggism. Although the artist is always depicted as a solitary figure, the three 1606 Neapolitan altarpieces that he executed differ significantly from one another and might be indicative of the support that he found right away in the city. Pacelli in his essay states that it is very plausible that for his first commissions in Naples, Caravaggio might have used the studios of either Neapolitan artist Carlo Sellitto or Battistello Caracciolo.22

Neapolitan Masterpieces

Caravaggio’s first commission, which is today lost, was commissioned by a rich grain merchant, Niccolo Radolovich.23 The Seven Works of Mercy [Fig. 1] is the second work Caravaggio completed in the city of Naples. It was commissioned for the high altar of the Church of Pio Monte della Misericordia by a group of noblemen who were devoted to acts of human charity. Caravaggio depicts the seven acts of physical mercy that members of the organization were supposed to follow: bury the dead, visit the imprisoned, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the sick and refresh the thirsty. This altar piece is quite unique as it reveals a new relationship that the artist had with reality.24 The influence of the city seeps into the Seven Acts of Mercy. All the actions are taking place at the bottom of the composition in a mysterious dark Neapolitan vicolo- an alley with its distinctive basso apartments that many artists would have used for their botteghe.25 This painting perfectly captures the dynamic energy of the vibrant and chaotic city of Naples that Caravaggio would have witnessed and taken part in. The upper portion of the composition depicts two quite large, floating angels supporting the Madonna and Child. The painting exudes a sort of mysticism accomplished by the compositional density of the scene and the intensified modeling of light. Caravaggio’s Neapolitan and late works reflect his intensified study of how light falls on objects. The intimate connection that Caravaggio was able to achieve by the delicate articulation

21 Treves, Letizia, and Aidan Weston-Lewis. Beyond Caravaggio. (National Gallery Company, 2016), 114. 22 Pacelli, Vincenzo, and Arnauld Brejon de Lavergnée. "L'eclisse del committente?: congetture su un ritratto nella "Flagellazione" di Caravaggio rivelato dalla radiografia." Paragone. Arte, (1985), 212. 23 Graham-Dixon, 2011: 339. Some scholars identify The Madonna of the Rosary as Caravaggio’s first Neapolitan commission. However, according to the 2019 Neapolitan exhibit this theory seems to be disproven. 24 Cassani, 2004: 24. 25 Carrier, David. “The Ethics of Ornament in Early Modern Naples: Fashioning the Certosa Di San Martino.” Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 75(2) (2017): 208–10.

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of light is most noticeable in The Flagellation [Fig. 2]. The painting is now located at the Museo di Capodimonte, but it was originally conceived for the de Franchis Chapel in the church of San Domenico Maggiore, Naples. The modeling of light and dark is intensified in this painting, creating a very intimate and emotionally charged scene perfect for an altarpiece. Compared to The Seven Acts of Mercy, the composition of The Flagellation is quite simple. It presents Christ flanked by two figures in the center of the composition, and one kneeling in the dark right next to Christ’s feet. The latter could be a self-portrait of the artist, because of his distinguishable black curly hair. This kneeling figure also calls to mind the Uffizi Arrotino statue. Although The Flagellation portrays the atrocious tortures inflicted on Christ, it becomes contemplative and serene through the depiction of his sacrifice. The most striking difference between this work and the Seven Acts of Mercy is how the paint is handled. In The Flagellation, the body of Christ is handled with a looser brushstroke compared to his early paintings, which furthers the serenity of the image through the fleshiness of Christ’s body. This approach might also be a sign of confidence, indicating that the artist did not have to prove his talent by applying neatly ordered brushstrokes. It is important to note that the artist’s patronage in Naples was unique. It is good to remember when considering Caravaggio’s Neapolitan works that the painter was in the service of the demanding art market rather than serving enlightened patrons like in Rome.26 The art scene in Naples was robust but nascent, as the nobility were recently moving into the city from the countryside.27 This might have given the artist more artistic freedom to experiment during the final years of his life. Caravaggio’s last painting is the Martyrdom of Saint Ursula [Fig. 3], executed during his second Neapolitan stay from 1609-10, although it had been misattributed for some time. The work incorporates many of the characteristics used by the artist throughout his career that make the saint’s killing so uniquely impactful for its viewers. This piece, in fact, can be considered as the culmination of the artists’ career as he goes back to his characteristic three quarter composition, but uses the stark contrast between the enveloping darkness and sharp light that he refined in his late works. Once again Caravaggio paints himself in as a spectator, attempting to witness the scene at the top right corner of the canvas. Another figure, in the center of the composition, launches his hand forward in a failed effort to prevent the saint’s execution. The exaggerated contrasts between dark and light seem to be not only a dramatic device but might also be a symbolic allusion to the fine line between sin and redemption – between life and death. Caravaggio attempted to leave Naples just after completing the Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, as he was finally granted papal pardon. However, as he was loading his belongings on the ship to Porto Ercole he was arrested and had to bail himself out of prison. Once he was released, he discovered that the ship with all his belongings had departed without him. He then contracted a fever and died a few days after. Perhaps the artist did not intend any of his pictures to function as a form of self-confession. Yet the dramatic unfolding of life events that constituted Caravaggio’s final years undoubtedly enriched his paintings. 28 In Naples, and even more so in his last painting, Caravaggio abandons the broader range of color and the descriptive technique of his Roman years in favor of a more summary and expressionistic handling of pain.29 His palette is in fact far more minimalistic and

26 Whitfield, 1982: 60. 27 Marshall, 2016. 28 Cassani, 2004: 106. 29 Treves, 2016: 113.

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focuses rather on the intensity of the reds and blacks that contribute to the narrative through a more focused spotlight. The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula seems to have a sharper, more detailed line compared to the three altar pieces realized during his first stay in Naples. One aspect that appears in all three paintings is the inclusion of a possible self-portrait of the artist playing a marginally significant role in the scene. Throughout his whole career Caravaggio was known to insert himself into his works in place of his signature.30 His self-portraits are always disguised characters performing marginally important roles. In fact, the presence of this hidden self-fashioning in his late works is interesting in a time where he was both a fugitive and an attention seeker. The inclusion of self-portraits perhaps demonstrate a self-confidence he had in his art, which he hoped would be the means through which he would have had obtained papal forgiveness. This might suggest that Caravaggio, even during his darkest times, never lost hope and constantly worked on bettering his position through the sole means he had: his artistic genius.

Conclusion

Caravaggio’s Neapolitan period captures the beautiful misery that the city and his life embodied. Just like the artist’s paintings, Naples was a city of contrast marked by the misery of the populace and the abundant wealth of the nobility; by sumptuous palaces and dirty and dark bassi; by the lower class that dressed in rags and the nobles with the finest fabrics. Caravaggio’s body of work during his Neapolitan stay is the proof of his alignment with the city. This contrast where saintly subjects are depicted with a mundane realism was quite unique for the time. This made both the city and his paintings so vibrant, so alive. After visiting Naples, Goethe, the German intellectual of the eighteenth century, said “vedi Napoli e poi muori,” meaning that once you see Naples then you can die, as your life has been fulfilled.31 Although the artist had an unfortunate and miserable death, he was finally able to witness a city that had a similar evocative quality with that of his artworks.

30 The only painting that was ever signed by the artist is The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist at the Cathedral of San Giovanni alla Valletta, in Malta. 31 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, Emilio Castellani, Herbert von Einem, and Roberto Fertonani. Viaggio in Italia. (Milano: Mondadori, 2013) “ In quanto alla posizione della città e le sue magnificenze tanto descritte e lodate non dirò una parola. “Vedi Napoli e poi muori” dicono qui.” (March 2, 1787)

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Figure 1: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Seven Acts of Mercy, 1607.

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Figure 2: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The Flagellation, 1607.

Figure 3: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, 1610.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carrier, David. “The Ethics of Ornament in Early Modern Naples: Fashioning the Certosa Di San Martino.” Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 75(2) (2017): 208–10.

Cassani, Silvia, and Maria Sapio. Caravaggio: the Final Years. Napoli: Electa, 2004.

Cropper, Elizabeth. "Naples at the Royal Academy. London." The Burlington Magazine 125, no. 959 (1983): 104-06.

G. P. Bellori: Vite dei pittori scultori e architetti moderni - facsimile of the edition in Rome of 1672, Rome [1931], 208-09.

Graham-Dixon, Andrew, and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Caravaggio : A Life Sacred and Profane. W.W. Norton, 2011.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, Emilio Castellani, Herbert von Einem, and Roberto Fertonani. Viaggio in Italia. Milano: Mondadori, 2013.

Marini, Maurizio. "L'alfa E L'omega Di Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio, Pittore: Qualche Precisazione Documentaria Sulla Nascita E Sulla Morte." Artibus Et Historiae 20, no. 40 (1999): 131-49.

Marshall, Christopher R. Baroque Naples and the industry of painting: the world in the workbench. 2016.

R. Causa, La Madonna nella pittura del '600 a Napoli, Naples 1964, p. 20; R. Ward Bissell, op. cit., 1968.

Schütz, Sebastian. “Caravaggism in Europe: A Planetary System and its Gravitational Laws,” in Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome (New Haven, 2011), 26-47.

Spear, Richard E. "Late Caravaggio. Naples and London." The Burlington Magazine 147, no. 1223 (2005): 140-42.

Sohm, Philip. "Caravaggio's Deaths." The Art Bulletin 84, no. 3 (2002): 449-68.

Pacelli, Vincenzo. ‘New Documents Concerning Caravaggio in Naples’, Burlington Magazine, vol 119 (1977), pp. 819–29

Pacelli, Vincenzo. Caravaggio, le sette opere di misericordia. Salerno, 1984.

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Pacelli, Vincenzo, and Arnauld Brejon de Lavergnée. "L'eclisse del committente?: congetture su un ritratto nella "Flagellazione" di Caravaggio rivelato dalla radiografia". Paragone Arte, 1985: 209- 218.

Prose, Francine. “On the Trial of Caravaggio. (Cover Story).” Smithsonian 37, no. 12 (March 2007): 80– 92.

Treves, Letizia, and Aidan Weston-Lewis. Beyond Caravaggio. National Gallery Company, 2016.

Whitfield, Clovis, and Jane Martineau. Painting in Naples 1606-1705 : From Caravaggio to Giordano. New York, N.Y.: Alpine Fine Arts Collection, 1982.

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