Can We Find Reality Beyond the Edges of Images?
The silent question of Caravaggio’s basket
Have you ever wondered if a masterpiece, familiar as the back of your hand, could still whisper secrets long unheard? Imagine standing before an artwork you’ve seen countless times, only to discover it holds lessons yet to be understood. This is the magic of art; it never ceases to educate, inspire, and surprise us, no matter how many times we’ve admired it.
Let’s start from here: what’s a work of art? According to Art Theory, by Cynthia Freeland, a true work of art is distinguished by its uniqueness, technical difficulty, objective beauty, and the universality of its message.
Now, when I say art, what comes to your mind? For me, due to my age and place of birth, I think of the great Italian Renaissance artists. The uniqueness of their works, the absolute technical difficulty, and the undeniable objective beauty are beyond dispute.
Hidden messages
But what universal message is hidden in works that had only to immortalize events and characters, in an era without photography? Well, every work produced by those great artists was rich in messages that transcend the immediate beauty and have reached us today.
Art, it is said, is not a mirror, but a hammer: it…
