FLAGELLATION OF CHRIST BY CARAVAGGIO

One of the museum's most admired works is the great canvas with the Flagellation of Christ, painted by Caravaggio in 1606 during his first stay in Naples. Look at the dramatic and engaging power of the contrast between the muscular, fully illuminated body of Christ and the partially shadowed figures of the executioners, and notice how the suffering of Christ's noble face is even more evident beside the vulgar scowls of the two jailers. There are few other works in the history of painting where chiaroscuro translates into pure emotion like it does here.