On May 9 one of the world's foremost authorities on the great Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, namely Sergio Benedetti, will give a lecture organised by Heritage Malta at National Museum of Fine Arts, South Street, Valletta, at 7 p.m.
Sr Benedetti was formerly senior conservator of the National Gallery Of Ireland and is best known for his rediscovery of the Baroque masterpiece, The Taking of Christ, by Caravaggio in the early 1990s. The painting, which had lain unrecognised in a Jesuit retreat in the Irish Republic for many years, was identified and authenticated by Sr Benedetti as Caravaggio's 1602 painting.
The work, which has since been loaned to the National Gallery of Ireland, is considered to be one of the Italian master's greatest works, ranking alongside our own Caravaggio canvasses The Beheading Of John The Baptist and St Jerome, both on display at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
Caravaggio was active in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily between 1593 and his premature death in a brawl, at the age of 39, in 1610. He is commonly placed in the Baroque school, of which he is regarded as the first great representative.
The artist's time in Malta included the year 1607, thus making the current year the 400th anniversary of his time here. It would be true to say that throughout his life Caravaggio had many more downs than ups. An inveterate brawler he got into more fights than a Roma ultra. Indeed his time spent here was divided between the studio, several bars and the oubliette( guva) at Fort St Angelo, where he became a "guest" of the Knights of St John. In fact he is thought to have been one of the very few prisoners who ever managed to escape from this almost impenetrable hole in the ground.
Sr Benedetti's lecture has been eagerly awaited by all local Caravaggio scholars and other interested parties. One not to miss.
Sr Benedetti was formerly senior conservator of the National Gallery Of Ireland and is best known for his rediscovery of the Baroque masterpiece, The Taking of Christ, by Caravaggio in the early 1990s. The painting, which had lain unrecognised in a Jesuit retreat in the Irish Republic for many years, was identified and authenticated by Sr Benedetti as Caravaggio's 1602 painting.
The work, which has since been loaned to the National Gallery of Ireland, is considered to be one of the Italian master's greatest works, ranking alongside our own Caravaggio canvasses The Beheading Of John The Baptist and St Jerome, both on display at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
Caravaggio was active in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily between 1593 and his premature death in a brawl, at the age of 39, in 1610. He is commonly placed in the Baroque school, of which he is regarded as the first great representative.
The artist's time in Malta included the year 1607, thus making the current year the 400th anniversary of his time here. It would be true to say that throughout his life Caravaggio had many more downs than ups. An inveterate brawler he got into more fights than a Roma ultra. Indeed his time spent here was divided between the studio, several bars and the oubliette( guva) at Fort St Angelo, where he became a "guest" of the Knights of St John. In fact he is thought to have been one of the very few prisoners who ever managed to escape from this almost impenetrable hole in the ground.
Sr Benedetti's lecture has been eagerly awaited by all local Caravaggio scholars and other interested parties. One not to miss.