Fort Worth, Texas, 9 August 2011, Art Media Agency (AMA).
Kimbell Art Museum will present an exhibition entitled “Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome” from 16 October to 8 January.
The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas offers a small collection of 350 works ranging from Antiquity to contemporary pieces. The building was designed by American architect Louis Kahn I(1901-1974) and opened in 1972.
Trained in the realistic traditions and culture of the religious reform of his native Lombardy in the north of Italy, the young Caravaggio settled in Rome in 1592. After a few years of struggle and poverty, he attracted the attention of some of the most prominent patrons in the city, like Cardinal Del Monte, who quickly brought him fame. He stayed in Rome until 1606, when he was forced to flee the city after killing Ranuccio Tomassoni, chief of the neighbourhood police, in a duel. He then moved to Naples, Malta and Sicily. Caravaggio was a prolific painter and died at the age of only 38 in 1610. In 2010, the 400th anniversary of his death was commemorated. The events focused attention on the painter and several exhibitions were organised in Italy, reconfirming his legacy and the remarkable power of his art.
This major retrospective explores the influence he had on European painters, who followed him to Rome. The event features approximatively sixty paintings by Caravaggio and artists who were influenced by his revolutionary style. American viewers will examine his work and the impact he had on a generation of painters like Gentileschi, De Ribera, Simon Vouet and Van Honthorst.