Caravaggio, The Non-Traditional Artist

            I found Saturday’s seminar very interesting. I really like learning about art and its history. I think that art expresses who the artist is and how they view the world. What makes art so interesting is that it can be interpreted in many different ways. There is no specific way to look at art and it all depends on who the viewer is. Art can be seen from many different perspectives and that’s why I love it.
            During the seminar I learned about many artists. I learned about Borromini, Boronini, Raphael, and many more. The artist that stood out the most to me was Caravaggio. Caravaggio was a painter during the era of Baroque. Baroque was an art movement that was commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church. Caravaggio stood out the most because he was considered to be not like other artists during this time period. Caravaggio’s artwork was thought of as offensive and gritty. He was very different from the other artists.
            Caravaggio stands out when compared to other artists like Raphael. Caravaggio painted using live models which wasn’t traditional. Other artists used idealization for their work while Caravaggio used reality. Caravaggio had his own opinion on what art should look like. Since he followed his opinion, which was non-traditional, he was thought of as rebellious.
            Caravaggio’s painting “Madonna and Child with St. Anne, 1606” really caught my eye during the seminar. This painting was considered to be non-traditional. The fact that the setting of the painting can not be determined and that Christ was naked was offensive. This painting wasn’t well liked by the papal grooms. I don’t understand why these things are non-traditional, but that’s probably because the Roman tradition from the past is very different from our tradition today.
            I learned so much on Saturday. Everything that I learned from this seminar will really influence the way that I interpret art.

Photo Credit: Google Images

-Haven