Michelangelo's canvases travel the route of the Great Silk Road

The exhibition of reproductions of paintings by Michelangelo Merizi da Caravaggio, deployed in the Turkmen capital, which allowed looking at the work of the great painter through the prism of digital technologies, aroused the great interest of the Ashgabat residents and guests of the capital. Organizers - the Embassy of Italy in Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Culture and Foreign Affairs of our country - timed the exposition to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries. 

As noted in an interview with the culture attaché of the Italian diplomatic representation Mikela Sandini, the residents of Baku and Tbilisi become acquainted with the works of Caravaggio. The exhibition from Ashgabat will go to Tashkent. "Choosing this route," noted Signora Sandini, "the organizers wanted to recreate one of the segments of the Great Silk Road. The digital technology use has allowed with a high degree of certainty to transmit every detail of the works of Caravaggio. Thanks to this, visitors, acquainted with the pictures, experience the same visual and emotional sensations, as well as from the contemplation of the original. Ashgabat residents have an opportunity to get acquainted with the 19th canvases of Caravaggio in the Museum of Fine Arts and from the 14th - in the nearby gallery of the Academy of Arts. " 

Michelangelo Merizi was born in 1571. He received the pseudonym of Caravaggio at a place in Lombardy, where he was from. His father served as a majordomo and architect of the Marquis and Caravaggio. Michelangelo studied in the studio of the Milanese artist Simon Peterzano before the beginning of the 1590's. Back at that time, the beginning artist showed great potential, which required his release. In 1593, a young Lombard goes to Rome. However, Rome did not meet a talented young man with welcoming embrace. Caravaggio happened to live in misery, to work for hire until the fashionable for those times painter Cesare D'Arpino did not take him as an assistant for writing still life’s in his monumental paintings. At this time are born under the brush of Caravaggio, the paintings "Sick Bacchus" (the master painted a self-portrait in the image of the ancient Greek god Bacchus) and "A young man with a Basket of Fruits". 

Caravaggio is considered the founder of the realistic style in European painting of the 17th century. Black and white transitions make the plots of his paintings voluminous, accentuating the audience's perception on the characteristic details and emotions of the characters. Unfortunately, Caravaggio possessed not only an innate talent of the artist, but also a rebellious spirit, because of what he often found himself in difficult situations. The canvases "The Fortuneteller" and "The Schulers" are evidence that Michelangelo knew firsthand about the character of the city quarters. "Fortune-teller" - one of the most famous works of the Italian master. Despite his youth, Caravaggio brilliantly portrayed a pretty gypsy, whose smile conceals the desire to fool a naive young man from a wealthy family. A young man who trustingly hears predictions, did not notice that the gypsy was trying to take off his gold ring. 

In the painting "Schuler", on which inveterate scammers famously fooled in the card game of an inexperienced young signor, Michelangelo transmitted the characters of the characters through color transitions and clothing details. 

In 1595, Caravaggio finally gained an influential protector in the person of Cardinal Francesco del Monte, who introduced him into the artistic environment of Rome. In the collection of the cardinal, who valued in his protégé a bright artistic temperament and independence of views, there were such works by Caravaggio as "The Fortune-teller", "Lutenist", "Concert", "The Head of Medusa" and "Fruit Basket". These are the best pictures of the early period. 

The new stage of Caravaggio's creativity, which critics call mature, begins in 1599 with four paintings telling about the life of St. Matthew. The painter is accompanied by success and recognition. He received orders for the creation of two other paintings - "The Crucifixion of St. Peter" and "The Appeal of Paul." However, street adventures, accompanied by quarrels and fights, pull him to the tragic finale. In 1606, mortally wounding his partner in the ball game, Michelangelo, to avoid the death penalty, leaving Rome. 

The lees of life Caravaggio spends in wanderings: Florence, Modena, Genoa, Tsagarolo, Naples. In 1607, he went to the island of Malta with the intention to join the Order of St. John, to ensure his immunity. During the service at the head of the Order of Malta, he enjoys great authority. In one of the cathedrals of Malta is kept the picture of Caravaggio "The truncation of the head of John the Baptist". However, the unchecked temperament of Michelangelo caused his misadventures and early departure from life. After a fight with one of the members of the order, he was arrested and imprisoned. The painter managed to escape from custody and move to the island of Sicily. In the national museum of Messina, there are two late works of Caravaggio - "The Resurrection of Lazarus" and "The Adoration of the Shepherds". In another city - Syracuse - for the church of Santa Lucia, he painted "The Burial of Saint Lucia". 

The painter returns to Naples again, where he was severely beaten by the Maltese. A premonition of a tragic denouement is observed in the painter's latest work "David with the Head of Goliath". According to one version, in the image of a cowherd boy, the painter depicted himself in his youth, and Goliath's head - a self-portrait of a mature Caravaggio. Presentiments did not deceive him. Having received permission to return to Rome, he chose, as it seemed to him, the safest, sea route and went to Porto Ercole, where on false charges he was imprisoned. When he was released, he learned that the ship with his property had disappeared. On October 16, 1610, Caravaggio died of a fever. 

Michelangelo Merizi da Caravaggio lived only 39 years. However, despite a relatively short life, he had a huge impact on the painting of Europe. Caravaggio laid the foundation for a new style in painting, and his followers were called "Caravaggesque painters".