In her biography of Caravaggio, Helen Langdon refers to Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s “evangelical call to young artists,”1 welcoming and encouraging them to pursue his new and modern style. Historical documents paint a different picture, of a Caravaggio who fiercely guarded…
A few weeks ago, Storia dell’Arte published stories from readers who have told interested parties what they’re studying in college (art history) and have been met with insensitive responses. I have written about this before, but never from a solution-oriented angle. I…
In the March 2012 issue of the Art Bulletin, Notes From the Field discusses anthropomorphism. What is it? Is it a good term, or bad? Does it make sense in the modern world? Is it in the eye of the…
The College Art Association’s centennial conference was this year in Los Angeles, February 22-25. I initially planned to attend the entire conference, but certain events at my work made this impossible. I attended on Saturday the 25th with my husband….
Happy Valentine’s Day! Caravaggista.com is celebrating this romantic day by showcasing a few of art history’s most famous faces, couples, and love scenes: Love is in the air! What are your favorite romantic artworks? If you’d like to learn…
In the sixteenth century and seventeenth centuries, the Catholic Church was engaged in an ideological war with (among others) Martin Luther, the young professor and preacher from the North. As his teachings spread across Europe, the Church needed a way…
The Nativity of Jesus is drawn from accounts of Christ’s birth in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. Following the Annunciation, Mary tells Joseph that she is with child and goes to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John…
Hello readers! Merry Christmas! In the coming days before Christmas, we’re going to examine the Christmas story, starting with the Annunciation. This is an important event in Christianity and one of the most popular iconographies in Marian art. Before we start…
The story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife can be found in Genesis 39. At this point in Joseph’s story, he had been nearly killed and then sold into slavery by his brothers and had wound up in Egypt in Pharaoh’s,…
Salome is one of many “bad girls” in art history. The step-daughter of King Herod, she was partially responsible for killing John the Baptist. You can read the full story in Mark 6:14-30. Herod was hesitant to kill John, for…
