Exploring Caravaggio: An Insight from Historical Documents

The publication of Stefania Macioce‘s book Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio: Documents, Sources and Inventories – 1513-1848, now in its third updated edition (Rome, 2023), serves as the basis for an in-depth examination of Caravaggio‘s life and work. The book meticulously compiles over a thousand archival documents related to Caravaggio, presenting them in chronological order. These documents encompass various aspects of his life, including his artistic endeavors, legal implications, and interactions with significant contemporaries, offering a multifaceted view of the artist’s historical and biographical context.

This comprehensive collection also includes inventories of art collections and ancient sources spanning from 1513 to 1883, providing a detailed historical framework for understanding Caravaggio’s impact. Caravaggio, a transitional artist who bridges the Renaissance and the modern era, is celebrated for his innovative approach to realism, which some consider a precursor to photographic techniques. His work was widely admired, leading to the emergence of Caravaggism, recognised as the first international artistic movement.

Despite his artistic achievements, Caravaggio’s life was marked by frequent legal troubles, including the infamous 1603 trial. However, these incidents were not unusual in the context of 17^th-century Rome, a city characterized by poverty and violence, and where artists and criminals co-existed. Nevertheless, Caravaggio’s art, deeply rooted in the reality of his time, transcended genre painting, reflecting his unique innovation while remaining intrinsically linked to his era.

Stefania Macioce has been Professor of History of Modern Art at Sapienza University of Rome since 1998, following a teaching tenure at the University of Udine. Her research has been conducted at the Warburg Institute in London and the Archives of the Order of Malta in Valletta, where she also taught courses. Her primary scholarly focus is on Caravaggio, with numerous publications resulting from archival research on his time in Rome and Malta. Recently, she published the third updated edition of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Documents, Sources and Inventories (2023), a key reference in Caravaggio studies. Her expertise extends to 17^th-century culture, including in-depth studies on Giovanni Baglione, Lionello Spada, and Caravaggesque painters, with a particular focus on 17^th-century engravings. Macioce has contributed to major exhibitions in Rome, Vienna, Madrid, Tokyo, Osaka, and Syracuse, and played a significant role in the 2010 Caravaggio centenary exhibition at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, publishing I cavalieri di Malta e Caravaggio (2010) for the occasion. Among her other notable works are La musica al tempo di Caravaggio (2013), various iconographic studies, and more recent publications such as Quando la pittura parla (2018) and Caravaggio, un genio tra luci e ombre (2021). She is the deputy editor of Storia dell’arte magazine and a contributor to About Art On Line. In recognition of her contributions, Macioce was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Order of Malta in 2010, became a correspondent of Roman Studies in 2021, and received honorary citizenship from the town of Arpino in 2022.