REHABILITATING THE BAROQUE: THE GENIUS OF ROME 1592-1623 a show at The Royal Academy of Arts, London 20 January - 16 April 2001

It seems the reputation of the Baroque has, except perhaps among contemporary classical architects, been completely rehabilitated. The Royal Academy's show "The Genius of Rome", had its title been the only clue and the show hung instead early in the twentieth rather than the twenty first century, might have suggested a theme organized around the High Renaissance of Raphael and Michelangelo. Instead, we are finally able to recognize the unqualified genius of Annibale Carracci (although still not a household name) and Michelangelo Merisi, alias Caravaggio, and those who fell into their orbits. The show does tend to favor, in quantity at least, Caravaggio and his Caravaggisti, a marked contrast to last year's show held in Rome titled "L'Idea del Bello", which depended for its theme on the favorites of the 17th century classical theorist Pietro Bellori; indeed, covering much of the same historical ground, the Bellori show probably gave a more accurate picture of the artistic climate in Rome in the early 1600's, whereas the current London show tends to favor no doubt the interests of the host Academicians: portraits, landscape and genre are in great supply here, while the higherbrow history paintings favored by Bellori seem marginalized (for these from this epoch, take a walk over to the National Gallery, whose principal 17th century room could almost sustain a show of the same theme, in addition to one of Caravaggio's finest paintings). A Humanist might have wanted more attention paid to the thematic undercurrent of the allegorical/mythical/religious works, but it is hard to fault such a popular show for lack of intellectual appeal when the sensual and emotional aspects, in works like Caravaggio's recently discovered "The Taking of Christ" from Dublin (via the Jesuits), are so brilliantly represented. Indeed, a theme taken up in the catalogue, competition and jealousy, is appropriately raised in the home of an artists' academy; it was that vigorous, relentless competition that spurred ever greater feats of both miraculous naturalism (have a close look at Christ's interlocking fingers in the above mentioned painting: the artist proving himself capable of the most difficult aspects of the figure in a virtuosic display of observation) and narrative drama. This is the "full-blooded" art that Wittkower praised, and it is inspiring to see it so widely appreciated again.

© Poliphilo 25 February MMI

Also read: 'A Rhetorician of the Brush' Review

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