The Baroque master Caravaggio makes a stop at a Basel exhibition hall
Published: Tuesday, Dec 19th 2023, 17:00
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Caravaggio was one of the most extraordinary artists of the Italian Baroque period. Now some of his masterpieces are on display in a Basel exhibition hall, framed by many paintings by his contemporaries.
The exhibition is organized by the Ticino-based company GC Events. The company recently earned itself a somewhat mixed reputation with two unauthorized exhibitions of Banksy prints and, in particular, the "Real Bodies" show with taxidermied corpses at the Basel exhibition center.
And now GC Events is once again bringing Caravaggio to the hall on the first floor of the Messeparkhaus. Included are three works on loan from the famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
At first glance, this sounds astonishing, as the museum in the Italian city of art usually exercises the utmost restraint when it comes to lending out works from its collection. But it seems to have worked with diplomatic help, among other things. The Italian consul Benedetta Romagnoli was among those present at the media presentation on Tuesday.
On display is, among other things, Caravaggio's fascinating scene of the obviously very painful drawing of a tooth from around 1608-1610, or the Unbelieving Thomas, also from the Uffizi, who sticks his finger into Jesus Christ's wound. However, this painting is not by Caravaggio himself, but is attributed to his circle.
The great master of lighting effects
"Caravaggio and his time" is the title of the exhibition. The vast majority of the paintings are by contemporaries of the artist, who was not only a great master of light effects, but also had an extraordinary life as a brawler and ultimately even as a murderer. However, many of the contemporary works from the early 17th century are also well worth seeing.
However, they do not come close to the great master Caravaggio and the "Caravaggismo" he coined. This is shown, among other things, by the interspersed facsimiles of famous works and even more clearly by the few originals.
Until April 7 in Basel
There is, for example, the famous "Boy Bitten by a Lizard" from 1594. There are two documented original versions of this painting. The National Gallery in London owns one, the other is privately owned in Florence. In Basel, the provenance is inscribed as private collection.
In this painting, Caravaggio brings a still life to life in a fascinating way. A boy trying to eat the cherries is bitten by a lizard. The artist has captured the moment of pain and horror in a poignant way.
Or there is the famous "Magdalene in Ecstasy", which is embedded in an altar at the end of the exhibition tour. The painting, which has been copied many times, is famous partly because since its discovery in a private Italian collection around ten years ago, there has been a dispute as to whether it is an original or not.
However, visitors may not be bothered by this when looking at the wonderful picture. They can do so until April 7, before the exhibition travels on to South Korea.
©Keystone/SDA
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