Caravaggio and His Influence at West House, Saturday, 17th September 2016, 9.45am to 2.30pm Caravaggio: Gypsy Fortune Teller, 1596-97; Musee Du Louvre See: http://tinyurl.com/jc8zqn9 CARAVAGGIO AND HIS INFLUENCE Brutal realism and dramatic contrasts of light and shade mark the style of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1573-1610) whose influence swept across Western Europe in the first half of the seventeenth century. At one extreme his religious paintings can reveal a powerful spirituality aimed at the ordinary man in the street, while his paintings of cardsharpers, fortune-tellers etc and those of his followers vividly portray the more squalid side of daily life. We first consider Caravaggio’s own career and next his influence in Italy, Spain, Holland and France. Lists of slides shown will be provided. TUTOR Leslie Pitcher (B.A. Cantab.) has a degree in Classical Literature and Languages at Trinity College, Cambridge. He lectures for NADFAS, WEA, and U3A. He has also lectured at Brompton Oratory on Religious Art. His particular interest is in the Classical tradition in art from the ancient world to the Renaissance. PROGRAMME 9.45 Doors open 10.00 Caravaggio in Rome: Caravaggio’s career in Rome – his ‘low life’ scenes (with powerful lighting and still-life details) and a detailed look at the “Calling of St Matthew”, which unforgettably mixes a Biblical subject with contemporary life. 11.00 Coffee/tea 11.30 Caravaggio’s later work and influence in Italy and Spain: Caravaggio’s later, sombre paintings in Naples and Malta. His influence in Italy on the Gentileschi and in Spain on Ribera and the early Velasquez. 12.30-1.30 Lunch by Daisy’s 1.30 Caravaggio’s influence in Holland and France: Murillo’s paintings of beggar children, the Dutch Utrecht school’s development of Caravaggio style to include candlelight scenes and the brilliant fortune-teller paintings of the Frenchmen Valentin de Boulogne and Georges de la Tour, which take Caravaggio’s psychological insight to even more profound levels. 2.30 Close. Orazio Gentileschi, 1627-8, Rest on the Flight into Egypt; Vienna, Kunsthistorische Museum See http://tinyurl.com/hbbgxn5 .