Turbulent genius of artist who created groundbreaking techniques

Exhibition on Screen: Caravaggio
Regal Picturehouse, Henley
Tuesday, November 11

THIS premiere of Exhibition on Screen: Caravaggio (12A) offered a captivating biography of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the Milanese-Italian painter whose short life from 1571 to 1610 revolutionised artistic expression.

Created by award-winning directors Phil Grabsky and David Bickerstaff, the
100-minute art documentary follows their 2022 success with Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition.

Raised in Milan, then in turmoil with warfare, plagues and hunger, Caravaggio trained with a student of Titian before collaborating with the Pope’s preferred creator, Giuseppe Cesari.

Losing both parents to illness at age 11, his early hardships helped shape a fiery disposition: artistic and analytical, yet rebellious, dramatic and prone to violence, all underpinned by strong religious beliefs.

Arriving in Rome circa 1592, he rapidly gained acclaim, earning support from influential backer Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte. His initial major project, illustrating Saint Matthew for the Contarelli Chapel, launched him to stardom, resulting in approximately
40 pieces during his 14-year stay.

However, scandal plagued his brilliance. A deadly 1606 confrontation in a duel led to exile from Rome with a bounty on his head. Finding temporary haven in Naples, he affiliated with the Knights of Malta, but was soon ousted for misconduct.

Roaming Sicily, he produced iconic artworks while constantly on the move, but met a tragic death at just 38, possibly due to infection, trauma, or paint-induced poisoning, while heading for potential forgiveness from the Vatican. Actor Jack Bannell portrays the visionary artist with an irresistible appeal that’s engaging, believable, intimate and light-hearted.

With a beard and a simulated injury, he authentically captures Caravaggio, who had the habit of embedding self-portraits in his own paintings.

This film tells Caravaggio’s tale using vivid storytelling, compelling close shots and sharp imagery developed across five years of production. Engaging and educational, it includes commentary from international experts who explain his groundbreaking technique: tenebrism, an extreme version of chiaroscuro that heightens feelings through bright subjects emerging from deep shadows. Avoiding idealised figures, Caravaggio instead hired everyday people like beggars, sex workers and manual labourers to represent holy characters, blending scriptural scenes with subjects like mortal weakness, life’s brevity, sanctity and spirituality.

Highlighting masterpieces housed in elite institutions such as the National Gallery in London and the Louvre in Paris, the movie exposes stunning aesthetics, graphic violence, secret stories, raw nature and inner feelings. His techniques astonished contemporaries, igniting the Caravaggisti followers who influenced later Masters such as Rembrandt, Rubens and Velásquez.

Praised widely, with recognition for an outstanding documentary at the Chichester International Film Festival, this work informed and captivated, turning audiences into witnesses of artistry that is timeless.

It is excellent viewing for those seeking thoughtful analysis and theatrical energy which connects the waning Renaissance to the emerging Baroque.

Anthony Weightman