ART|WRITING|CREATIVE WRITING
Caravaggio’s Last Painting
Drama in light and dark
Michelangelo Merisi du Caravaggio, born in late 1571 in Milan, is the quintessential uncontrollable artist, the genius to whom normal rules do not apply. (Teju Cole)
There’s a mortal wound, an arrow-pierced heart, and the shocked faces of men around her. Ursula’s drama-filled last moments reflect the life of the painter who plastered her image across the canvas. He even allows himself one last indulgence: that’s his face behind Ursula. Everything else is also Caravaggio. There’s the red-blood hues, the ashen faces, and dark, shadowy background. This is Caravaggio’s dichotomy. The artist as genius. The artist also as the man who made pain his home.
In 1606 Caravaggio lost a bet on a game of tennis against a man called Ranuccio Tomassoni. A fight broke out and in the melee Caravaggio drove his sword through Tomassoni, killing him on the spot. On the run from then on, the artist became a fugitive.
The Last Caravaggio, the National Gallery’s current blockbuster show until 21st July, attempts to give us a Bible-honed version of the maverick painter. The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, all the way from Naples, is a good starting and finishing point (it’s thought to be Caravaggio’s last ever painting).
