Lisbon. Friday 2 February at 18:00 the Italian Institute of Culture of Lisbon and the National Museum of Ancient Art present the documentary series “La Vera Natura di Caravaggio” (Caravaggio’s True Nature) by the director Luca Criscenti, produced by Land Communications for RAI Cultura. The first 2 episodes of the series to be screened are: ‘Le vie dei campi’ and ‘Senza recapito e senza provvedimento’, in the presence of the director Luca Criscenti and Prof. Tomaso Montanari, art historian and documentary narrator, who teaches History of Modern Art at the “Federico II” University of Naples. Who was Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio? In what way was he revolutionary? Why do we still feel so close to him and why is he still so important? Why does he still move us? And what can one say today of an artist who has become a pop icon by the art market that places consumption before knowledge, sensationalism before in-depth study and true understanding of art and history? These are the questions which Tomaso Montanari answers in “La vera natura di Caravaggio”. Twelve episodes that, in an unprecedented and scientific manner, trace the biographical and artistic story of the painter from Lombardy, drawing on the sources of the time and the writings of the most attentive scholars, without ever yielding to the temptation of sensational revelations, and proposing instead an original interpretation of the artist, that nevertheless does not lack surprising discoveries. “No artist of our history – says Montanari – has been able to speak the truth with the strength and consistency of Caravaggio. Telling the truth about the fragility of our body and the truth about the power of our gaze, which can truly change the world. We will follow and learn about Caravaggio, year by year, work by work. We will try to discover the true nature of Caravaggio”. (9Colonne)
