HERMITAGE, The Lute Player By Caravaggio Room 237

The numerous works by Italian painters on display at the Hermitage include many world-renowned masterpieces, but one of the most famous is without doubt The Lute Player by Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio, one of the greatest innovators in painting.

As you can also see in this painting, the works of Caravaggio, who was very interested in depicting the real world, were able to combine an accurate, detailed portrayal of the subjects, with an impressive and innovative use of light and darkness.

During his time in Rome, between 1595 and 1596, Caravaggio painted two versions of this work, one of which is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The two canvases feature a number of differences, both in the colors and in the still life elements, but the subject is basically the same....