Sanguine / Bloedrood

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    During the cultural city festival Antwerp Baroque 2018. Rubens Inspires, the M HKA, the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, juxtaposes the spirit of the baroque masters with the vision of contemporary top artists. With the exhibition Sanguine/Bloedrood (Blood Red), curator Luc Tuymans aims to overwhelm the visitor by placing key works from the baroque of, among others, Francisco de Zurbarán and Caravaggio, in dialogue with works by classical contemporary masters, such as On Kawara and Edward Kienholz, as well as new works by contemporary stars such as Zhang Enli, Takashi Murakami, Michaël Borremans, Sigmar Polke and Tobias Rheberger. 

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    Sanguine/Bloedrood. Luc Tuymans on Baroque

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    ©Napoli. Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte (proveniente da Napoli, Chiesa di San Domenico Maggiore proprietà del FEC - Fondo Edifici di Culto)
    La Flagellazione di Cristo, 1607-1608
    Caravaggio
    Painting , 266 x 213 cm
    oil on canvas

    The 'Flagellation of Christ' is one of the great works of Caravaggio's late oeuvre. After 'The Seven Works of Mercy' for the Pio Monte della Misericordia Church, it was his second important commission in Naples, where he settled in the early autumn of 1606.  Barely a year after his flight from Rome, he was already the great star of Naples.

    The 'Flagellation' was a commission from the ambitious De Franchis family, who wanted to present a monumental altarpiece in its chapel in the San Domenico Maggiore church. Caravaggio did not disappoint. Christ has rarely been depicted in a more imposing and visceral manner. Clothed only in a loincloth, his musculature is that of an athlete, rather than that of a deity. Yet he bears his crown of thorns and his fate with dignity. Pushed, abused and gagged by the three rugged, tawny figures, the executioners of Pilate, in the mighty light that falls from above on his divine body and his pale skin, Christ suffers resignedly, almost turned inward.

    In 1972, the 'Flagellation' of the San Domenico Maggiore church was transferred to the Museo di Capodimonte, the magnificent museum on the Capodimonte hill from where one can look out over Naples and its bay. In 1998/1999 it was thoroughly restored. Caravaggio's athlete remains in perfect condition.

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