The Private Life of a Masterpiece: Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ
- Format:
- Multimedia
- Multimedia Type:
- DVD
- Year:
- 2009
- Publisher:
- Fulmar Television & Film Production for BBC Wales
- Place published:
- Mississauga, Canada
- Language:
- Abstract:
Caravaggio's painting The Taking of Christ, which represents Jesus Christ being captured in the Garden of Gethsemane, was well-known from copies. But the original painting of the treachery of Judas had been lost from view for over 200 years. The painting had been commissioned from Caravaggio in 1602 by the Roman nobleman, Ciricaco Mattei - a man who had previously commissioned two other paintings from the artist. Initially the painting was famous. Guidebooks of Rome from the 17th century mention it and describe it hanging in the Mattei Palace. Mattei accounts from the 18th century confirm that the Caravaggio was still in their collection. But by the early 19th century it had disappeared from view and by the 20th century descriptions and copies by other artists provided the only clue to what the Caravaggio looked like. These stated that the picture included seven half-length figures - representing Judas, three soldiers, Christ, the fleeing St John, and a man holding a lantern (in fact a self-portrait of Caravaggio himself). In 1990 the Jesuit fathers at St Ignatius, Dublin called on the National Gallery of Ireland to clean a painting that had been hanging in their residence for nearly 60 years. The restorer immediately recognised the composition - but what convinced the experts that this painting wasn't just another copy? How had it got to Ireland? And what happened over the years to cause its disappearance? This fascinating programme takes a closer look at the painting itself, reveals the details that identify the painting as a Caravaggio and unearths how and why the painting remained undiscovered for so long.
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