107-406 Readings in Caravaggio

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in art history.

This subject examines the life, work and influence of a painter whose significance is attributable as much to issues of artistic identity as it is to his art. It will consider Caravaggio's formation and early background and will examine the primary documents relating to his life and career. Attention will be directed to early responses to Caravaggio from patrons and collectors, artists and early writers on Baroque art. Students will also explore the process of transmission and reinterpretation of Caravaggio's work, ranging from his influence on painters during his own lifetime to treatments of his life and art in contemporary film, literature and art. Students should complete the subject with an understanding of the varying methodologies used to interpret the work of Caravaggio and his followers, and of the social and theoretical issues arising from the study of their paintings.