Why Caravaggista?

After I graduated from UCLA, I wanted and needed to have a venue to write about art history, explore the current trends in the field, and discuss (with myself, perhaps) the writings of art historians whom I so ardently admire. Caravaggista.com was the answer. Initially a travel blog for my second trip through Italy in 2008 (I went alone), it was abandoned during most of my time at UCLA. I want to breathe new life into the site and give it content worthy of its impressive name.

I created this site with the intention of providing its readers with trustworthy, easy-to-understand examinations of art history and help with some of the major struggles facing art history students today. If appropriate to the topic, I do my best to include at least one piece of scholarship or primary source in each post. My goal with each post is to disseminate accurate and full  (albeit brief) examinations of art historical issues and paintings.  Because there is a wealth of misconceptions about art history, I want to  extend my knowledge to the curious public, rather than keep such exciting information within academia.

What does Caravaggista mean? Where does it come from?

You might recognize the name Caravaggista as similar to the Caravaggisti, a group of Caravaggio-esque painters from the 16th and 17th centuries (although I don’t think to be a Caravaggisti you are bound by the constraints of time). The name comes from art historian Mary D. Garrard’s 600 page biography of Artemisia Gentileschi: “There are many Caravaggisti, but only one Caravaggista,” she wrote of Artemisia, who was a follower of Caravaggio and whose paintings are equal in  emotion, action and fervor.

Things this site will talk about a lot:

• Caravaggio.
• Anything and everything from the High Renaissance through the Baroque period in Italy
• Baroque art: Italian, Spanish, Dutch
• Artistic Intent/Art Theory (or attempts at such things)
• Religion! Religion is a central part of Italian, Spanish, and Dutch Renaissance and Baroque art.
• History! History is married to “art history.” If I left the history out of art history, I’d risk producing off-base work and would be sad to not be called an art historian.

If you have questions about the study of art or the methodologies of art history, feel free to email me and I will answer your questions gleefully and with a raving hunger, like a three-year-old in a candy store.