Michelangelo Merisi, «Caravaggio» (1571-1610), considered the pioneer of modern painting, had a short life but one so fruitful and significant that it places him in the front rank of figures who mark a before and an after.
The exhibition is divided into ten areas that illustrate one of the most attractive themes in the history of painting: Caravaggism. Included in the first are works by «Caravaggio» which demonstrate that, more than an evolution, his art was a revolution, his art was a revolution. Artists like Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, Borgianni, Stanzione, Cavallino, Crespi, Serodine, Gramatica, Guarino, Núñez del Valle, Pensionante del Saraceni and the Master of the Annunciation to the Shepherds reflect the Italian scene, especially that of «Rome» and «Naples», without forgetting « Other Italian Settings».
«The Still Life» echoes one of the finest examples of the language of naturalism. The main Spanish follower of the Lombardy master, «José de Ribera: a Valencian in Naples», is paid homage to in a space of his own, while the next is devoted to the CTwo Masters of Spanish Realism: Velázquez and Zurbarán». In «The Valencian Scene» there appear Ribalta, father and son, Espinosa and Fos. Such other great Spanish artists as Carducho, Tristán, Orrente and Maíno are in evidence in «The Castilian Scene», while «Some European Examples: La Tour, Régnier and Terbrugghen» bears witness to the universality of Caravaggio's legacy.
This exhibition involves an effort unprecedented in Catalonia, which has been possible thanks to the support numerous Spanish and international institutions have given to the Museu Nacional, specially the Museo Nacional del Prado and the Museo di Capodimonte.