Giovanni Baglione, Sacred and Profane Love (detail), c. 1602 Although Baglione's style imp
Giovanni Baglione, Sacred and Profane Love (detail), c. 1602Although Baglione's style implicates him as one of the Caravaggisti, he despised Caravaggio and actually sued him and some of his friends and artistic followers for libel. This painting is a response to Caravaggio’s Love Conquers All (1601-2). Baglione’s powerful figure of Sacred Love conquers Caravaggio’s flamboyantly joyous Cupid (Profane Love; not pictured here). While some artists would choose to refute another artist’s work using an opposite style, Baglione uses Caravaggio’s own style to send a message. Baglione was artistically faithful to the Caravaggisti for the entirety of his career. I find it interesting that his dislike for Caravaggio as a person did not translate into him abandoning his artistic imperative, which was to paint in Caravaggio’s deeply dark, emotional and dramatic style. It’s hard to not love Caravaggio. The man has style.Detail from the Google Art Project. -- source link
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