Three works housed in three museums in the city

Who was Caravaggio?

The stay in Naples

Three masterpieces you can't miss if you're in Naples

The Flagellation of Christ at the Museum e Real Bosco di Capodimonte

He fled to Naples in 1606 to avoid a sentence of beheading for the murder of Ranuccio Tomassoni and painted the work currently on display at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte: The Flagellation of Christ. (Update: the work is currently not in the museum because it is on display at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth (United States) until June 2020) The painting was commissioned by Tommaso De Franchis, a member of an important family of magistrates, and was intended for the family chapel in the Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore.

The dramatic intensity of the scene is given by the skilful use of light, which illuminates Christ and the four figures: Christ, tied to a column, and the three torturers, united by a tension that is not only physical, but above all psychic and emotional.

In fact, Caravaggio chose men from the street to represent the torturers, probably real torturers in viceregal prisons. The choice was not arbitrary, but dictated by the desire to make the depiction as realistic as possible.

The Seven Works of Mercy at Pio Monte della Misericordia

Caravaggio, having fled Rome on account of a murder conviction, produced one of his most significant works, characterized by its remarkable realism: The Seven Works of Mercy, exhibited at the Pio Monte della Misericordia and commissioned for 400 ducats by the institution in order to celebrate its charitable activities.

The artist's work is characterized by a revolutionary spirit, as evidenced by the composition's innovative nature. The composition, set in a scene that evokes Naples, features the Madonna of Mercy with Child at the top, supported by angels, while the lower figures symbolize the Works of Mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, lodging pilgrims, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, and burying the dead.

The Martyrdom of St. Ursula at the Gallerie d'Italia in Naples

In the year 1610, during the artist's second sojourn in Naples, he produced a series of public and private works, including the Martyrdom, which portrays the assassination of Orsola by a dart launched by the Hun king, to whom she did not submit. The composition is intricate and dramatic, and some scholars have posited that it may in fact be Caravaggio's final self-portrait.

The work was commissioned by Marco Antonio Doria, a Genoese collector who personally selected the subject. The prince, eager to acquire the work, requested its delivery with such haste that it arrived still fresh with protective varnish, a circumstance that has rendered its conservation history complex.

Doria endeavored to rectify the situation by exposing the painting to the sun, under the impression that it would accelerate the drying process. However, this intervention led to an unintended consequence, wherein the varnish melted. Consequently, Doria resorted to writing to Caravaggio, entreating his assistance in rectifying the issue. However, Caravaggio's response is uncertain, and the painting was subsequently shipped by sea to Genoa within two weeks, further complicating its conservation history.

It is noteworthy that the painting's patron did not initially recognize its value.