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The second section, «Ingargliardire gli oscuri,» highlights his rare examples
of portraits and allows visitors to admire one by Matteo Barberini belonging to a
private collection.
Then, in the third section, «Dramma Sacro fra Roma e Napoli,» Caravaggio de-
votes himself to the theme of the sacred, focusing primarily on Saint John the
Baptist.
Following the murder of a man in 1606 during a fight during a game of palla-
corda, a type of tennis, he was forced to leave Italy and fled to Malta. «Finale di
partita» retraces the final part of his life, with his desire to return to Rome after
escaping from his prison in Malta.
His final journey took him to Sicily and then to Naples before ending in Porto
Ercole in Tuscany, where he died. His mysterious disappearance at the age of 39
prevented him from reaching Rome despite the pardon granted him by the Pope.
Due to his violent temperament and his bad company, Caravaggio was often
unable to make the most of his talents and alternated between periods of great
prosperity and poverty. His paintings demonstrate an exceptional sensitivity
in rendering the human dimension, both physical and emotional, particularly
through his fidelity to the live model.
His use of light, full of contrasts of chiaroscuro, was, even in his time, considered
revolutionary, in contrast to Raphael’s academic practice.
Michelangelo Merisi dit Caravaggio, Italian (1571–1610). Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness, 1604.
Oil on canvas, 68 1/4 × 52 1/2 × 1 1/2 inches (173.4 × 133.4 × 3.8 cm). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 52-25.
Image courtesy of Nelson-Atkins Digital Production & Pres