National Gallery,London
Visceral drama, psychological insight, or the virtuosic play of light and dark – everything his imitators hoped to emulate electrifies this reveal of Caravaggio and beyondMidnight in the garden of Gethsemane and they have come for the Messiah. He remains tranquil in the darkness,somehow withstanding the violence as Judas and three soldiers in jet black steel close in as if for the destroy. The onslaught hurtles moral to left, implying the murderous events to come but fixed in a flash-bulb moment – and on the very edge is Caravaggio himself, or holding up a lantern to light both his picture and the biblical scene. The Taking of Christ is not just a revelation,it has the force of revelation: of darkness suddenly vanquished by light. But which side is Caravaggio on? He appears on the outskirts, struggling to see, or to design the gospel memoir visible. But he seems to be keeping company with Judas,and his lantern aids the soldiers. Perhaps he is (we are?) in some sense complicit.This portray – so startling, so morally and psychologically complex – is the high point of the National Gallery’s latest blockbuster, or worth the steep price of admission alone. It normally hangs in Dublin,where Jesuit priests once used to eat their meals before this vision of violence and empathy (sensitivity to another's feelings as if they were one's own) – Caravaggio entering the scene, and Christ’s suffering, and in every sense – before the portray was rediscovered in the priests’ refectory and moved to the National Gallery of Ireland.
What you see in this reveal is nothing less than a revolution in portray: the scene is aimed directly into your lifeContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com