Caravaggism


Caravaggism

 

(1) A group of artistic devices, characteristic of 17th-century European realist painting, during its initial stage. These devices were particularly expressed in the work of the Italian painter Caravaggio, who championed democratic artistic ideals and was interested in the direct reproduction of nature in painting. He was particularly sensitive to the objective reality of a representation. In his works, Caravaggio emphasized contrasts of light and shadow and sought to impart grandeur to genre motifs. The adoption of Caravaggio’s methods was an important step in the creative development of many of the prominent artists of the 17th century, including P. P. Rubens and Rembrandt. However, in many cases, this development was not a direct result of the influence of Caravaggio and his followers F. Ribalta, D. Velasquez, and Georges de La Tour.

(2) A trend in 17th-century European painting, represented by the followers of Caravaggio. In Italy, Caravaggio continued to be influential until the end of the 17th century. Caravaggism penetrated every important artistic center and was particularly evident in the painting in Rome, Genoa, and Naples. The legacy of Caravaggio received its most original and independent interpretation in the work of O. Borgianni, O. Gentileschi, C. Saraceni, and G. B. Caracciolo. Caravaggism was expressed as a superficial borrowing of formal methods and devices in the work of a number of painters, including L. Spada and B. Man-fredi.

The most important representatives of Caravaggism outside of Italy included H. Terbrugghen, G. van Honthorst, and D. van Baburen in Holland; T. Rombouts and A. Janssens in Flanders; Valentin de Boullogne and S. Vouet in France; J. Ribera in Spain; and A. Elsheimer in Germany.

REFERENCES

Vipper, B. R. Problema realizma v ital’ianskoi zhivopisi XVII-XVIII vekov. Moscow, 1966. Pages 55–81.
Schneider, A. von. Caravaggio und die Niederlander. Marburg, 1933.
Caralogo del la mostra del Caravaggio e dei caravaggeschi. Milan, 1951.
Moir, A. The Italian Followers of Caravaggio. Cambridge (Mass.), 1967.

M. I. SVIDERSKAIA