DISCOVER UTRECHT, CARAVAGGIO AND EUROPE

The exhibition comprises a total of 75 works, more than 70 of which are on loan from museums, church institutions and private collections throughout Europe and the USA.

The list of lenders reads like the Who's Who of the international museum world: the Louvre in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. But of course, with Berlin, Dresden and Kassel, the most important collections of paintings in Germany are also represented.

At the same time, we are particularly proud of loans from smaller institutions such as the Museo della Misericordia in Florence, the Pinacoteca cantonale Giovanni Züst in Rancate, and the Montserrat Monastery near Barcelona. Honthorst's "Decapitation of John the Baptist" comes from the Church of Santa Maria della Scala in Rome. At almost 3.50 m, this painting is not only so important because of its size, but also because of its provenance. During his stay in Rome, Honthorst placed it in the church as an altarpiece, where it still hangs today.

The three Utrecht painters did not get to know Caravaggio personally. He left Rome in 1606 and died in 1610.

In Rome, however, they could see many of his altarpieces in churches, including the "Vocation of Matthew" in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi or "The Crucifixion of Peter" in Santa Maria del Popolo. But they will also have studied important paintings in private collections. Honthorst, for example, lived for several years in the household of the Giustiniani brothers, who were among the most important collectors and patrons in Rome. They owned 15 works by Caravaggio alone.

Caravaggesque paintings are figure depictions as history paintings that depict a certain moment in a story or as genre paintings with a scene from everyday life. Themes are painted with great emotionality and direct appeal to the viewer. The figures depict familiar characters of a narrative or represent certain characters known from theatre or literature. They are lifelike and seem to have sprung from the everyday world of the artists. This may also be due to the fact that the figures were painted after real models, which were not idealized then.

There are life-size figures to be seen, often as half figures. They are positioned close to the edge of the picture and thus close to the viewer and arranged on a narrow stage. Frequently, the viewer is addressed by glances or gestures. The figures are often reproduced cut off by means of the narrow section of the picture.

Strong light and shadow contrasts can be seen. The emotions, gestures and facial expressions are often exaggerated as in the theatre. In reference to Carvaggio, one can find subdued colouration with earthy tones and simultaneously birght reds with some Caravaggists. In the Utrecht group, the paintings later became more colorful and brighter. In contrast to the preceding mannerist painting, which was characterized by a strong artificiality, the painting of the Caravaggists is naturalistic. Figures and materials are reproduced realistically, but there is no striving for the ideal and no renunciation of ugly details such as rotten teeth or dirty feet.

The Caravaggists address the great themes of humanity with their stories. The intense and strong emotions have not lost their topicality: sadness, sorrow, pain, triumph, compassion and deceit, joy, humour, morality. The non-idealized "types" in the pictures speak directly to us. With this exhibition, we want to address in particular young adults who are of the same age as the young caravaggists of that time.