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The Raising of Lazarus - Messina (Caravaggio)
Encyclopedia
The Raising of Lazarus, c. 1609, in the Museo Regionale, Messina, is a painting by the Italian
artist Caravaggio
(1571-1610).
In August 1608 Caravaggio fled from Malta
, where he had been imprisoned for an unknown crime, and took refuge in Sicily with his friend, the artist Mario Minniti
. Through Minniti's intercession he procured a number of important concessions, including this for the church of the Padri Crociferi in Messina, where it was presented by the wealthy Genoese merchant Giovanni Battista de' Lazzari on 10 June 1609. The fee was a thousand scudi, more than double any Caravaggio had received previously.
The Gospel of St John tells how Lazarus
, the brother of Martha and Mary, fell sick, died, was buried and then miraculously raised from the dead by Christ. As in several paintings from this period of Caravaggio's career, the scene is set against blank walls that overwhelm the frieze of human actors. The interaction of the relief of figures caught in corporate effort and emotion, with a large void above, is quite different from the closely focussed individualised dramas of his early and middle periods. As is usual with Caravaggio, light becomes an important element in the drama, picking out crucial details such as Lazarus's hands - one lax and open to receive, the other reaching towards Christ - and the wonder-struck faces of the onlookers.
The old story that Caravaggio had a freshly buried body exhumed for this painting is "probably apocryphal, but not beyond the bounds of possibility" (John Gash, see below). Some of the figures were said to be modelled on members of the community, but Caravaggio has also relied on his memory - the whole design is based on an engraving after Giulio Romano and his Jesus is a reversed image of the Christ who called Matthew to join him in The Calling of Saint Matthew. The painting is in poor condition and much restored, and it's possible that some passages are the work of assistants.
Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was the patron saint of Giovanni Battista de' Lazzari, to whom Caravaggio was contracted to paint an altarpiece in the church of the Padri Crociferi. The Gospel of St John tells how Lazarus fell sick, died, was buried and then miraculously raised from the dead by Christ.
According to Francesco Susinno, Caravaggio had produced a first version that he destroyed with a razor after adverse criticism. Subsequently he would have finished in record time the present version, but probably this account is fanciful.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
artist Caravaggio
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...
(1571-1610).
In August 1608 Caravaggio fled from Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, where he had been imprisoned for an unknown crime, and took refuge in Sicily with his friend, the artist Mario Minniti
Mario Minniti
Mario Minniti was an Italian artist active in Sicily after 1606.Born in Syracuse, Sicily, he arrived in Rome in 1593, where he became the friend, collaborator and model of the key Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio...
. Through Minniti's intercession he procured a number of important concessions, including this for the church of the Padri Crociferi in Messina, where it was presented by the wealthy Genoese merchant Giovanni Battista de' Lazzari on 10 June 1609. The fee was a thousand scudi, more than double any Caravaggio had received previously.
The Gospel of St John tells how Lazarus
Lazarus of Bethany
Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death...
, the brother of Martha and Mary, fell sick, died, was buried and then miraculously raised from the dead by Christ. As in several paintings from this period of Caravaggio's career, the scene is set against blank walls that overwhelm the frieze of human actors. The interaction of the relief of figures caught in corporate effort and emotion, with a large void above, is quite different from the closely focussed individualised dramas of his early and middle periods. As is usual with Caravaggio, light becomes an important element in the drama, picking out crucial details such as Lazarus's hands - one lax and open to receive, the other reaching towards Christ - and the wonder-struck faces of the onlookers.
The old story that Caravaggio had a freshly buried body exhumed for this painting is "probably apocryphal, but not beyond the bounds of possibility" (John Gash, see below). Some of the figures were said to be modelled on members of the community, but Caravaggio has also relied on his memory - the whole design is based on an engraving after Giulio Romano and his Jesus is a reversed image of the Christ who called Matthew to join him in The Calling of Saint Matthew. The painting is in poor condition and much restored, and it's possible that some passages are the work of assistants.
Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was the patron saint of Giovanni Battista de' Lazzari, to whom Caravaggio was contracted to paint an altarpiece in the church of the Padri Crociferi. The Gospel of St John tells how Lazarus fell sick, died, was buried and then miraculously raised from the dead by Christ.
According to Francesco Susinno, Caravaggio had produced a first version that he destroyed with a razor after adverse criticism. Subsequently he would have finished in record time the present version, but probably this account is fanciful.