Intriguing documentary on Caravaggio to be screened in Waterford
'Caravaggio' will be screened in Waterford in the New Year
A documentary on one of the most famous, revolutionary and at times controversial artists of all time, will be screened in Waterford in the New Year.
Exhibition On Screen's film, 'Caravaggio', was five years in the making and is the most extensive film ever made about the revolutionary and controversial artist.
Winning the audience choice award for Best Documentary at Chichester International Film Festival on its first screening, the film is set to take the art world by storm, following in the footsteps of the record-breaking documentary 'Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition', created by the same team in 2022.
Caravaggio's family was relatively well off, however, despite that the period into which he was born was one of intense famine and poverty. He was born in 1571 and it's believed his actual birth date was September 29.
His father and grand-father died from the plague in 1577, following which his mother moved the family back to the small town from where the artist got his name.
In 1584, when he was 13, Caravaggio was apprenticed to the local artist Peterzano. Caravaggio stayed in Peterzano's workshop for four years, learning the basics of the artist's craft.
In 1592, the then 21-year-old artist decided to up sticks and move to Rome.
However, he did so without money and without having completed any notable commission through which he could get work.
Though Peterzano, Caravaggio got a job as a workshop assistant to the eminently successful Cavaliere d'Arpino (Giuseppe Caesare), who was famous for his remarkable speed and panache.
However, Caravaggio left there in 1594 and started painting for the open market on small still lifes, self-portraits and evocative pictures of young boys.
In the same year, however, he struck gold with his wildly popular 'The Cardsharps', which was copied numerous times and attracted the eye of the wealthy art enthusiast Cardinal del Monte, who acquired this as well as 'The Fortune Teller'.
Obsessive about his new artist, the Cardinal invited Caravaggio into his court, and that is widely regarded as the artist's first major step towards career success. The film will be screened in Garter Lane on Wednesday, February 4, at 7.30pm. The price of admission will be €12 (inclusive of booking fee).
