Jacqueline Lavin

Thesis

Caravaggio: A Conversation with a Restless Mind.

It is the product of his instability that drives me to make spatial sense of the painting

before me. Within the red room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I am transfi xed in the

same two scenes created by Caravaggio. I fi nd release in the dark composition and it is in

drawing that I follow the painter as he fl ees from city to city.

Caravaggio

Milan

Rome

Genoa

Naples

Syracuse

Palermo

Valletta

In the creation of a narrative sited in Valletta , Malta my project is the excavation of the

original fort wall as it runs beneath St. John Street, the way in which Caravaggio inhabited

the street. While in Malta, Caravaggio was given a moment of rest from his turbulent past.

Admitted into the knighthood, he produced his largest painting on the island. Keeping with

his transient nature, the location of where he produced such paintings is a mystery. The

meandering path within the wall is the subterranean connection between Caravaggio’s

dwelling in the Fort St. Angelo across the harbor, and the site of his painting as displayed

in St. John’s CoCathedral. Within this wall is a series of chambers, each informed by my

own reactions to eight paintings by Caravaggio throughout the semester. The chambers are

programmed to the original uses of the Knights of Malta for the storage and display of se-

lect items, concluding in the hidden painter’s studio beneath the Cathedral

1

Michelangelo Merisi

Painted with no foresight

Painter of the streets

Inhabited the streets of

Caravaggio

Milan

Rome

Naples

Genoa

Valletta

Palermo

Syracuse

A restless mind

A life of violence and fl ight from city to city

As he runs, his paintings follow into a darker

genre

He paints in a fi eld of blackness

Moments and manipulated light defi ne the

space within his fi gures

2

With sketchbook in hand, I enter the Red Room.I step onto the platform at 77th and Lexington and I make my way uptown to the steps of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

3

4

5

CONCERT OF YOUTHS

New York

Rome

As a place of familiarity, I walk through the maze of galleries devoted to Eu-

ropean painting. My subconscious directs me, through the warm rooms and I

am guided by an established set of landmark paintings, familiar friends. The

red room sits in the farthermost corner of the exhibition space, housing the

four paintings of which I am a frequent visitor.

In drawing The Concert of Youths, the only fi gure to maintain a fi xed

stair is the young Caravaggio. To the back of three classical fi gures in the

midst of some seductive state, he beckons for the viewer’s attention. While

there is a distanced pleasure amongst the young lute player who glows in

the foreground, and the insinuation of something romantic about this lavish

lifestyle, it is the Caravaggio that addresses me.

I enter onto a dark and narrow walkway with only an undulating surface

above me. As I continue along my path, the red cloth of the young lute player

conforms to geometry. The fabric-like vaults seem to hover above in a limit-

less fi eld. It is a world of darkness only illuminated in small instances at

the edge of a surface, and the distanced backlighting to a small structure at

the end of my path. I realize there are only four intermittent supports to the

weightless mega-structure above.

As I approach the edge of my path, I look out onto a cityscape. Standing

over the fi rst of four archways, I am at the site of a palace. Looking down

onto the courtyard within the Palazzo Madama, I see a life of luxury. Cardi-

nals and aristocrats feast amongst the works of art and dine to what appears

to be a musical note I cannot hear. Four young boys strum a lute which

makes no sound. The interior of the palace is contrasted to the tumultuous

activity happening within the surrounding streets.

I continue forward to the fi rst bay of my now bridging path, to where I see

within a niche, the sculpted fi gure of a young musician. It is at this point

which I hear the sound of intermittent strumming. I continue to the next

bay at which I fi nd the sculpted fi gure hovering over a sheet of markings. As

I skim the surface, the intermittent strumming begins to take on an order.

Unable to fully defi ne the genre of the sounds being generated, I continue

onward. To the third bay, a sculpted Cupid emits a clear romantic tune to

reverberate throughout the vaults and archways. At the fourth bay I

approach the lit entranceway that anchors the last column in an otherwise

dark fi eld.

6

7

8

The Lute Player

Boy With Sheet Music

I continue forward to the fi rst bay of my now bridging path, to where I see within a niche, the sculpted fi gure of

a young musician. It is at this point which I hear the sound of intermittent strumming.

I continue to the next bay at which I fi nd the sculpted fi gure hovering over a sheet of markings. As I skim the sur-

face, the intermittent strumming begins to take on an order. Unable to fully defi ne the genre of the sounds being

generated.

9

Cupid

Caravaggio

To the third bay, a sculpted Cupid emits a clear romantic tune to reverberate throughout the vaults and archways.

At the fourth bay I approach the lit entranceway that anchors the last column in an otherwise dark fi eld.

10

Palazzo Madama, Rome

Home of Caravaggio under the patron Cardi-

nal Del Monte in which the Youths were paint-

ed. Rome would be the location of many of his

masterpieces. Amongst the wealthy of Rome,

Caravaggio found himself in the streets in where

his violent behavior pursues, and eventually forc-

es him to leave.

11

Narcissus

Rome

As I descend a fl ight of stairs into darkness, I begin to hear

the sounds of fl owing water. At the bottom step I stand at a

pier, with a rowboat large enough for one tied to a post. As

I begin to row through darkness, I see in the distance what

appears to be a spiraling form which hovers in space. With

no clear ground, I am able to row into and through the con-

centric arches that are physical above me, while illuminated

below me. As I enter this spiraling path, I am captivated by

the beauty in the refl ection through which I travel. As I move

to the edge of my boat and glare into refl ection, I realize the

fragility of my vehicle. Incapable of straying inches from my

initial position without fear of overturning into the darkness,

I am forced to look only ahead. I realize the only way I can

continue forward is to remain stationary. The slightest ef-

fort to gaze into the refl ection below would bring forth my

demise. vv

12

13

As I move to the edge of my boat and glare into a concentric refl ection, I realize the fragility of my vehicle.

I realize the only way I can continue forward is to remain stationary. The slightest effort to gaze into the

refl ection below would sink into darkness.

14

Martyrdom of St Matthew

The Scene of a Crime

15

16

The Calling of St. Matthew

Room for Judgement

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18

The Taking of Christ

A Cell

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20

The Beheading

of St. John

Valletta

I fi nd my path is beginning to narrow along a wall that seems to thicken

as I move forward. What has been a consistent path is sending me into

a variation of angled and erratic directions. My path is determined by

the fortifi cation wall I walk the periphery of. The city I walk the periph-

ery of is built behind and atop this undulating wall that is both carved

stone, and constructed limestone masonry. The orthogonal grid of cubic

stone dwellings within are decorated with the baroque addition of the

Knights. As my stepped path once again changes direction, I mind my

proximity to the wall, for to my left is at all times a far drop to a dark

water. I turn and I fi nd myself scaling the side of a fortifi ed wall lined

with a row of arches. Behind each a row of eight arches are eight cha-

pels. Each space is ornately decorating with limestone carvings in refer-

ence to the eight langues of the Knights. As I approach the last arched

space, I am confronted with a chapel dedicated to John, Patron saint

of the Knights. As I once again reach a sharp right turn, I am guided by

the glimmer of a refl ected light on the limestone ahead, which my path

continues to follow.

21

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23

Working Space

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25

I am interested in the idea of how the spatial

implications of a drawing can be physically

translated into a space. By choosing my

vantage point from the edge of my

drafting table to the drawing 36” in front of

me I began to physically build out the con-

structed perspective lines to assemble a frame

of the space. Once I had assembled the frame

of the drawing I began to build with mate-

rial. I worked through a process in which I

would keep my eye at the pinhole and fi nd the

correct point in space in which the material

aligned with the drawing. The material would

then become a surface on which I could draw

while I look through the pinhole. Drawing lines

in space that would align with the perspective,

I started to fi nd some interesting geometries.

Something I have always been interested and

found myself working through is the act of

drawing what I perceive in the space between

my eye and the perspective as a way to defi ne

form.

Over the course of Spring semester, I would

like to continue exploring these spaces from

the paintings I select. After each drawing I

am interested in the idea of building a portion

of each drawing as a way to start defi ning a

language for the architecture. A collection of

built details derived from each of the drawings

would in the end be incorporated into a struc-

ture where my journey concludes.

26

Valletta, Malta

A fortifi ed city with a long history of

sieges and cultural diversity.

A city of stone, the white limestone

occupies all surfaces both natural and

constructed.

Elaborate and fortifi ed walls surround

the city, with the Baroque addition of the

Knights of Malta.

A temporary refuge for after being

honored with the title of a Knight of

Malta.

27

St. John’s

CoCathedral

Cathedral to the patron Saint of the

Knights of Mattlta. A fortifi ed exte-

rior, contrasted to an ornate interior

of eight chapels each dedicated to a

portion of the Knights of Malta.

Houses the largest painting ever

done by Caravaggio.

The beheading of St. John

encompases an entire wall from

which the rest of the space is

projected.

Fort St. Angelo

The original headquarters for the

Knights, it would become the

eventual prison from which

Caravaggio would escape.

28

29

The Program of a Street

The Program of a Wall

Perspective

Orientation

Caravaggio’s occupation of the streett

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31

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City Wall

The Excavation of a Wall

Built by the Knights of Malta before the city

was expanded

A subterranean path

A secret path from the Fort to the City Gate

in the event of a siege.

Lined with eight chambers

Derived from eight paintings

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36

37

38

Room for Relics

Room for Jewels

The Scene of a Crime

Room for Judgement

A Cell

Room for Confi nement

A Secret Entrance

Room of Fortifi cation

Room for Painting

39

Room for Relics

KNIGHTSArtifacts stored by the knights within the thickened arches in a narrow corridor

CARAVAGGIOStored collection of painted artifacts - Lutes.

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43

A Carved Ground

A Carved City

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Marina Gate

1530 Built by the Knights

1606 Travelled by Caravaggio

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47

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St. John Street

53

Painting Room hidden

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Bibliography

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ali Di Capodimonte, N.Y. Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 1985,

“Caravaggio The Complete Works Silvana Editoriale Edited and Text by Rossella Vodret. Pub Date:

2010.

Piranesi Rome Recorded: a Complete Edition of Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s Vedute Di Roma from

the Collection of the Arthur Ross Foundation. New York, NY: American Academy in Rome, 1990.

Print.

England, Richard. Walls of Malta. [Valetta, Malta]: M.R.S.M., 197-. Print.

Hughes, Quentin. Fortress, Architecture and Military History in Malta: Quentin Hughes, ... with

Photographs by David Wrightson. London: L. Humphries, 1969. Print.

Sgarbi, Vittorio. Caravaggio. Milano: Skira, 2007. Print.