The Genius of Rome

The Royal Academy has got it right with this show. The period depicted is an exciting one, covering the conception and birth of the Baroque period. There is a strong emphasis on painters' links with Caravaggio - many of the cards next to painting refer to the ways in which each painter is, or is not, "Caravaggesque". Seriously. Caravaggio is a pivotal figure in the history of art. His enormous contribution was to extol the virtues of realism, in contrast to the idealised world of the Renaissance painters. His saints have dirty hands and world-weary expressions; people's faces are shown in odd contortions, and the emotion they express is not ...  Read the complete review

Who is your favourite artist? While you chew over that nonsensical question, I'll tell you that if I were to answer such a multi-answerable question with a single name, it would be answered with the words Alberto Burri. You've probably never heard of him. Not many have. He's Italian, an abstract expressionist and quite considerably dead. However, this is a digression. More to the point, Caravaggio is not my favourite artist. But you already know that because not many abstract expressionism admirers say, 'Ooh, yeah! Caravaggio! Wow!'. But what should not be overlooked here is that Caravaggio was and remains a master. He was an artist whose works I have ...  Read the complete review