LOUVRE MUSEUM, Caravaggio Death Of The Virgin Denon Wing Hall 11

You probably know that the Louvre contains three works by Caravaggio: the first is the early La Buona Ventura, depicting a gypsy reading a gentleman's hand, the second is the Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt, a great master of the Order of Malta accompanied by a squire, and the third one, which I'll talk about in more detail here, is the 1605 masterpiece entitled Morta della Vergine (Death of the Virgin). This was the last altarpiece that Caravaggio painted in Rome before fleeing after he killed a man in a fight.

The painter engages you in the weeping of Mary Magdalene and the apostles around Mary, lying on her deathbed - a scene of dignified poverty among modest but deeply emotional people. The desolate environment appears even more solemn and intense due to the big red curtain at the top, similar to a raised theater curtain. Dramatic tension is achieved with an extraordinary concentration of media. The figures are dramatically highlighted by the light that shapes the figures and allows the face of the Madonna and the apostles to emerge from the shadow....