''The Flagellation of Christ'' is a painting by the Italian Baroque painter

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of h ...

, now in the

Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Ital ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

. It is dated to 1607, and may have been reworked by the artist in 1610. It is not to be confused with '' Christ at the Column'', another ''Flagellation'' by Caravaggio of the same period.

Description

According to art biographer Gian Pietro Bellori (1672), this work was commissioned by the di Franco (or de Franchis) family for a chapel in the church of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples. The family were connected with the Confraternity of the Pio Monte della Misericordia, for whose church Caravaggio had already painted ''

The Seven Works of Mercy ''The Seven Works of Mercy'' ( it, Sette opere di Misericordia), also known as ''The Seven Acts of Mercy'', is an oil painting by Italian painter Caravaggio, circa 1607. The painting depicts the seven corporal works of mercy in traditional Cat ...

''. It was moved to the museum at Capodimonte in 1972. The Flagellation of Christ had long been a popular subject in religious art—and in contemporary religious practice, where the church encouraged self-flagellation as a means by which the faithful might enter into the suffering of Christ. Caravaggio would have had in mind the famous fresco by Sebastiano del Piombo in the church of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome. Caravaggio has reworked Piombo's composition by drastically reducing the picture space so that the sculptural figures seem presented on a shallow stage. He has, however, retained Piombo's sense of the flagellation as a kind of sadistic ballet, with the figures arranged rhythmically across the canvas. Caravaggio's painting introduces an acutely observed reality into the scene: Christ is in this drooping pose, not because it might seem graceful, but because the torturer on the right is kicking the back of his knee while the figure on the left holds his hair tightly in his fist. This series of highly dramatic and innovative Neapolitan altarpieces — the ''Seven Works of Mercy'', this ''Flagellation'', and a close companion piece, '' Christ at the Column'', all done within a few months of his arrival in the city — instantly made Caravaggio the most talked-about artist in Naples, and the church of Sant'Anna dei Lombardi (Saint Anna of the Lombards — Caravaggio was originally from Lombardy) became a centre of the

Caravaggisti The Caravaggisti (or the "Caravagesques") were stylistic followers of the late 16th-century Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. His influence on the new Baroque style that eventually emerged from Mannerism was profound. Caravaggio never establish ...

, artists painting in the style of Caravaggio. These were not only native Neapolitans like Carlo Sellitto and

Battistello Caracciolo Giovanni Battista Caracciolo (also called Battistello) (1578–1635) was an Italian artist and important Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio. He was a member of the murderous Cabal of Naples, with Belisario Corenzio and Giambattista Caracciolo, ...

, but included Flemish artists like

Louis Finson Louis Finson, Lodewijk Finson or Ludovicus Finsonius (between 1574 and 1580 – 1617) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, copyist and art dealer. He painted portraits, religious compositions, allegorical paintings and genre scenes. Moving to Italy ...

Abraham Vinck Abraham Vinck or Abraham Willemsz. Vinck (Antwerp, 1574/1575 – Amsterdam, 1619) was a Flemish painter and art dealer who spent most of his life and career outside of Flanders, including in Hamburg, Naples and Amsterdam. He is mainly known as a ...

and Hendrick de Somer who would later help spread Caravaggism to northern Europe.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flagellation of Christ (Caravaggio) 1607 paintings Paintings by Caravaggio Paintings in the collection of the Museo di Capodimonte

Torture in art

Description

See also

References

External links