Before this article begins, I must apologize to my regular readers for my long absence. It was fine and busy time (details can be found on vernellestudio.com under COPPeR 2023 and Author Page); however, those activities combined with my online teaching for a university meant that I had to drop a few things. Now, the New Year is almost here and time to start my return by sharing an art story for that odd period just after Christmas. Who better to tell an offbeat part of the Christmas story than Caravaggio, himself so often a refugee, fleeing for his life, though not for the same reasons as this family.
Caravaggio’s Angel and Rest on the Flight to Egypt
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Rest on the Flight to Egypt by Caravaggio, c.1597
It is my favorite Caravaggio, a family taking a rest in an oddly somber but verdant landscape where they are being serenaded by an angel. Divine! Well, it is the Holy Family. Of course they are running for their lives in order to escape King Herod’s fury, as his troops go about massacring the innocents. Rest on the Flight to Egypt it is called, and this is not a layover at a Red Sea resort. Nothing in this landscape looks like the deserts of ancient Israel or Egypt. This is an Italian setting, somewhere in Lombardy perhaps, and not unlike some of Giorgione’s landscapes in the early 1500s. The family seems settled on the banks of a little lake (see the water in the distance on the right) under the shelter of trees, with various plants all around them. They are weary, and Mary’s slumped head and limp right hand would indicate that she and the baby are both napping. Joseph, being much older, bears the weariness of his age as well as his travels. They are not shabbily dressed, but they are humble people sitting on the bare earth.
Well, so much for the obvious; now for the oddities. Mary and the Christ Child have no halos. This was done during the beginning of the Baroque period; all holy figures had halos.
Close up of Joseph and the Angel with the donkey just behind.
As well, look at the size of the donkey. He’s an enormous beast; donkeys are small animals. Was it done so in order to get that magnificent head into a close frame with Joseph and the angel, a portrait of three existences: man, beast, and a divine entity? And, of course, the most outstanding character here is in fact the angel playing the music. His placement in front of the family, all sitting in a row with the donkey in the background, puts the angel in a dominant position. He is extremely pale, with little of the flesh colors of the humans in the picture, which indicates his other-worldliness. The angel is rather scantily clad, with the front of his body only covered at the waist and below the knee, as his white garb flows elegantly around his limbs. He stands with the right foot slightly elevated, throwing his weight (angels have weight?) onto his left side causing the left hip to curve slightly outward. His face is intent upon his violin and the sheet music. Yes, sheet music, held by Joseph no less, indicating that Joseph indeed sees this angel. What is going on here?
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Concert Champetre by Giorgione, c.1509 (This painting is sometimes credited to Titian who may have finished it after Giorgione’s death in 1510.)
Well, I had to go digging through my art history notes looking for some answers. I kept looking at that donkey, and finally it came to me. It seems a reference to the classical images of the birth of Jesus, in which the shepherds are present and along with them a cow and a donkey. Here, because of their travel, the faithful donkey, probably taken from the stable in all those nativity scenes, is still with them. Of course, his calm intent regard seems to show he is soothed by the music. Ah yes, the music. In the picture just above, we see Giorgione’s (maybe Titian’s) Concert Champetre in which two musicians sit thoroughly engaged in music and conversation while naked women loll about.
Well, not exactly. The females are muses who are inspiring the musicians from the unseen, hence why these guys are oblivious to their presence. We can also see here the way a gown of some sort has draped itself around one of the muses. Caravaggio’s angel has a touch of this, though in a more elegant style, just hinting at the angel’s nudity. The main thing for me, though, is that Joseph is holding the sheet music. Is this the way that Caravaggio substitutes for not having halos? If Joseph’s family is indeed specially blessed, why would they not be able to see an angel and hold his divine composition?
Now, though Caravaggio painted this ethereally innocent angel, he, Caravaggio, lived a life far from the divine. He was a master of chiaroscuro, or the use of contrast of light and dark. His life seems to have followed the same course. When we look at his representation of the young men with whom he obviously “partied,” as he represents himself as The Young Sick Bacchus, we see quite a difference between them and the angel.
Young Sick Bacchus by Caravaggio, 1593-1594
Boy Bitten by a Lizard by Caravaggio
Boy with a Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio, 1593-1494
These young men are all quite sensual, though in different ways. His young Bacchus character, the young man bitten by a lizard, and the young man with a basket of fruit are all done with a keen eye for human character and imperfection. Their coloring, of course, is that of flesh and blood. Their mouths are open, which heightens the sensuality. A sexual tone is quite evident as they handle ripe fruits, symbolic of their own youth and beauty. To the contrary, the angel’s mouth is closed, and he shows none of the flush of humanity. His eyes look down at his violin and the sheet music. His body has the allure of a purely beautiful form. He has come to earth in a perfect body, unashamed to be naked, as his sash covers little. He is divine innocence in all its beauty, untouched and untouchable.
The angel’s contrast with the seated figures, holy humans in this story, sets him apart from them but is not done using the strong contrast in dark and light that Caravaggio was so famous for. The toning down of the sharp contrasts allows for the scene to have a far gentler feel than many of his paintings of high drama. The style used here provides for a peaceful interlude during an otherwise harrowing trip, and the viewer can appreciate Caravaggio’s appropriate choice of subtlety to match the theme of the painting.
Caravaggio was many things, an enfant terrible, a murderer, and a hard-living capricious man, who was also a great painter. A painter as full of darkness and light as the chiaroscuro techniques he used; his brutal life perhaps only adds to the beauty of his paintings. What he knew of the divine; whether he believed in it or not; whether he mocked religion or prayed fervently, we truly don’t know. However, they say all painters paint themselves. He certainly did that when he painted his own self portrait as the head of Goliath after decapitation by David. I wonder what part of him was that divinely beautiful musical angel for whom Joseph holds the sheet music?
David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio, 1610.
Paintings used are all in Public Domain and available on wikimedia.org
For more on Caravaggio’s life, here is a link to Simon Schama’s Power of Art segment on Caravaggio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiH_ootDtTs
#caravaggio #powerofartcaravaggio #restontheflighttoegypt #baroqueart
For more on Marjorie Vernelle, see the author page at amazon.com/author/marjorievernelle.
She also has an engaging art blog that talks of painting and profiles artists in her local community. This article is a reprint from that Art Blog on VernelleStudio.com
© Marjorie Vernelle 2019, 2023
The Digestif: A Satisfying Miracle
Digestif: A digestif is an alcoholic beverage served after a meal, traditionally believed to aid digestion even though there is not strong evidence to support.
“The Art of the After-Dinner Drink: Digestifs” from tastingtable.com
Strong evidence or not, for those who seek a bit of quiet time after a big holiday meal, a digestif is a good way to cozy up to the final warm glow of a good dinner. This can be made even better by also studying a fine piece of art, like Caravaggio’s Rest on the Flight to Egypt. Depending on your view of Caravaggio’s life, you might go for Amaro because it comes in both a light sweet version and a bitter one.
What is Amaro?
Amaro is a grape brandy mixed with all kinds of herbs, spices, citrus, flowers, and other aromatic items to make a liqueur suitable for those after-dinner moments. According to Ray Isle of FoodandWine.com, Amaro may not be everyone’s favorite, though it is something that one can acquire a passion for, as he has. Amaro means “bitter” in Italian, so the taste is normally bittersweet which somehow works well with the fact that the drink was first sold in Italy as a medicinal tonic to improve the health. (Aren’t those always a bit bitter?) This medicinal aspect seems to be a common theme for potent liqueurs, like Genepi, for instance.
I learned of Genepi when on an art trip to the Alps of Haute Savoie. The drink was a medieval remedy for “the burning sickness,” a disease marked by tingling in the toes and fingers, which signaled poor circulation to the extremeties that could lead to amputation. Genepi was designed to get the blood circulating. That still did not cure the disease which was caused by parasites in the rye that bread was made from. The cure came when the people began eating wheat bread, but Genepi’s warming effects linger on. For those who might look upon the Caravaggio painting from the point of view of the very humble, this after-dinner liqueur made from gentian flowers and stems from the high Alps might serve your viewing of the painting well, and it is a bit sweet.
Photo from wikipedia.org
However, let’s get back to Amaro. Somehow the sweet lightness of the angel in Caravaggio’s painting makes me think of Amaro Nonino, pictured above right beside the Genepi. It has all the right digestive elements of the other amari, but its use of grappa mixed with oranges and rhubarb plus other spices (mostly well-kept secret ingredients) calm the bitterness. Mary and Joseph in the painting, despite having been forced to flee, do not seem bitter. Perhaps it is the angel’s music that has soothed them, just ast Amaro Nonino may soothe you.
For those who take into account the rough life of Caravaggio not to mention the general plight of refugees, then the bitter taste might appeal more. Amaro dell’ Erborista is really a test even though it has spices, dried fruit and honey. If you like a taste of mystery, you might go for a Sfumato like Rubarbaro, which is made from Chinese rubarb or the slightly milder version called Zucca. Any of these will draw the mind to contemplate both the light and the darkness in Caravaggio’s painting. In terms of Amaro, it seems the best comment on the subject comes from Ray Isle, who welcomes arrivistes to the culture of Amaro, saying, “They have a lot to discover.”
As for me, I am sticking with Prosecco for the holidays, (though I might have a Genepi, just to digest the lemon and rosemary chicken I’ve planned for New Year’s day). So with that, here is my wish for a great New Year for all of you, for me, and for OfArtandWine.com
© Marjorie Vernelle 2023