Carravagio - National Gallery

Carravaggio: The Final Years
Caravaggio (1571 - 1610) has become a popstar in Art. Drink, murders, duels an early death and masterpieces that only seem more astonishing as time goes by and this show is a finale - his final violent and tortured years.

The Supper at Emmaus (1601)
The Supper at Emmaus (1601)
St Francis in Meditation (1606)
The Flaggelation (1607)
The Crucifixion of St Andrew (1606)
Knight of malta (Martelli?) (1607)
Sleeping Cupid (1608)
The Raising of Lazarus (1608)
The Adoration of the Shepherds (1609)
The Anunciation (1608)
St John the Baptist (1610)
Salome with head (1606)
Salome with head (1607)
The Denial of St peter (1610)
The Martyrdom of St Ursula (1610)
David with head of Goliath (1610)

Almost all of these paintings were completed after he had a price on his head for a murder he had committed in Rome. He was basically on the run. This was the theme explored by Simon Schama in his book and TV programme and a turning point in art as religion was abandoned in favour of more secular imagery.

Having searched out every Carravagio I could find in whatever city, church or museum I wasn't about to miss this. It is Rome that contains the most substantial selection of his work, although one has to work hard to see them all.

Just sheer genius.