Conniving With Caravaggio - At The National Gallery Of Canada

"Roman society had a history of violence, and artists were no exception. Fights and brawls were frequent in this world. This became the world of Caravaggio."
Caravaggio; Exhibition Program...

It was twenty four years ago that I took a really hot French girl to see the Degas exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada for a first date. It was awesome! The show included all the known extant works of Degas! It was simply a once in a lifetime experience that today would be utterly impossible to duplicate in today's unstable world. Last Friday, me and that really hot French girl, still together, after all these years decided to go see the Caravaggio exhibition that is on at the National Gallery until September 11, 2011. These special shows take forever to organize and are simply the best educational, cultural and entertainment value for your dollar anywhere! And with the philistine Conservative Party of Canada in power I thought it doubly prudent to make this show just in case the National Gallery is turned into a Walmart Sam's Club! I wish I was joking here, but with the right wing bible thumping wacko's you just can't never tell....

Caravaggio - A Doctor of his time...

 Much to my surprise (and chagrin) there was a ton of space still left in the under-ground car park, no line-ups at the ticket booth and nearly no one at the exhibition! How can you explain this? Perfect fine art observing conditions! The security guys were pretty burly, but very mild mannered. He took our ticket stubs and pulled open the massive door and motioned us through!  This exhibition contains forty works of Caravaggio and a whole wack of his contemporaries! If you have any soul what so ever the grandeur of it all takes your breath away! The patrons of the arts back then loved their art LARGE! Out of the whole exhibition on display there were only about three paintings that would fit correctly into the largest modern house! All the rest require a National Gallery or a freaking Castle! The Oracle of Ottawa just can't start putting into to words the effect this has on a person. But I can assure you with the utmost confidence that seeing these great works of The Old Masters will make you a better citizen of the world and a better human being!

Saint Jerome and the angels... (4 feet high by 6 feet wide!)

It is a real double good day when at an exhibition like this that you get to see something that you always wanted to see and it was totally unexpected! Friday was a double good day! The great painting of Saint Jerome and the angels by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi is also included in this wonderful show! It is a painting that I have always wanted to see. Cavarozzi did not share the darkness of Caravaggio! The contrast is near overwhelming! This huge painting radiates warmth, mercy and humanity like a blast furnace radiates heat. The Oracle of Ottawa found himself unable to tear himself away from this magnificent work of art. How did they get a painting to seem to glow?

Caravaggio - The Sacrifice of Isaac...

The one thing the Oracle of Ottawa has learned is that even the best and most modern digital images do not in any way capture the power and masterful grace of an Old Master painting! Somehow, no matter what, the captured image is always way too dark!  The Sacrifice of Isaac was to me the most memorable. The angels face in reality is as radiant as a modern Klieg light! This again is a huge work many feet high by many feet wide! And they are even more imposing when you see them in their original massive frames! I could almost here Abraham; " Say What?" Deliverance is at hand, (the angel), evil is at bay, (the goat or ram), and Isaac has the look on his face that says "when I get my hands untied, I am going to rip your wings off!" You have to see this and soak it up. The look on the faces, especially Abraham is not soon forgotten...

Here in closing is a little video to get you in the mood of Caravaggio. After seeing the great works this is the video that leaves you with the feeling that I am sure you will experience. Don't miss this if you are living in Ottawa and/or visiting Ottawa. To see all these great works in one place for a mere fifteen bucks is an incredible deal! Just think, if even you had all the time and money in the world, and you went to each paintings home gallery, it would take months and hundreds of thousands of dollars! Don't miss it! Support the fine arts and the fine folks, who, at the National Gallery of Canada slave for years in total obsessed dedication to make these events happen!