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Caravaggio, as a painter of sensuality, was equally as talented in evoking the pleasures of the table. The people in his paintings are frequently eating and drinking, and even when he doesn’t explicitly depict food and drink, he discreetly adds a dish or culinary accessory.

Boy Peeling a Fruit (copy)

c. 1592–1593

Oil on canvas, 75.5 × 64.4 cm

Private collection, Rome

The events of the painter’s life which have interested historians are littered with allusions to his resentment towards the meagre meals offered to him by his hosts, to his anger at an innkeeper concerning the seasoning of artichokes, or to the brawls in which he was involved in various taverns of Rome and Naples. In the famous painting Rest on the Flight into Egypt, he places a large bottle of wine next to the figure of Saint Joseph. There are also the bunches of grapes in the painting of Bacchus and the self-portrait as Bacchus (Sick Bacchus or Satyr with Grapes), and the fruit in Boy Peeling a Fruit, Boy Bitten by a Lizard, Boy with a Basket of Fruit, and Basket of Fruit in the Ambrosiana Gallery.

Boy Peeling a Fruit (copy, detail)

c. 1592–1593

Oil on canvas, 75.5 × 64.4 cm

Private collection, Rome

In The Lute Player, in St Petersburg, the pears, figs, and fennel are combined with daisies, lilies, and jasmine. All the gifts of God are present on the table of the hedonist Bacchus and of The Musicians who invite the spectator to taste the pleasures of earth and in particular the pleasures provided by music. It is difficult to describe the second version of Supper at Emmaus as spiritual or mystical. This is not because the grapes are out of season, nor because of the sumptuous roast onthe table or the appetising pâté en croûte, but because the faces of the innkeeper and the waitress in the composition are equally as important as that of Christ.

Boy Bitten by a Lizard

1593

Oil on canvas, 65.8 × 52.3 cm

Longhi Collection, Florence

Victual platters and flasks are often present, even in the tragic scene of The Crucifixion of Saint Peter in which the executioners have the right to eat before and after having carried out their difficult deed. What an opportunity for Caravaggio when he illustrated the divine words “relieving the thirsty” in The Seven Works of Mercy. He dedicated himself with evident pleasure to imagining this caricature of a rapacious drinker.

Boy Bitten by a Lizard (detail)

1593

Oil on canvas, 65.8 × 52.3 cm

Longhi Collection, Florence

Where certain agreeable painters found their satisfaction in painting, like a pseudonym, vegetable or animal poetic emblems (notably the ducklings of Marco Palmezzano, the sparrows of Passerotti, and the carnations of Benvenuto Ferrarese), Caravaggio preferred the accessories of the cook and the wine merchant, using the bowl or the flask as a signature.

Boy with a Basket of Fruit

c. 1593

Oil on canvas, 70 × 67 cm

Museo e Galleria Borghese, Rome

The verbascum, or mullein, bushes are both distinguishing features of the painter’s work (see Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Saint John the Baptist, and the Entombment). It is not surprising that Caravaggio had a penchant for them since they reminded him of cabbage or lettuce.

His famous Bacchus, far from being a conventional representation of a pagan god, is an androgynous and rounded figure with a radiant complexion who, leaning on a day bed, holds out a cup of wine towards the viewer and invites him to enjoy the terrestrial pleasures.

Boy with a Basket of Fruit (detail)

c. 1593

Oil on canvas, 70 × 67 cm

Museo e Galleria Borghese, Rome

The mastery of still life he shows in painting the transparency of the glass, the reflections on the carafe, the basket of fruit, the fig-leaves in his hair and the draped movements of the toga; and the mastery of the naked figure illustrated in the god’s luminous complexion, in the redness of his cheeks and hand, the sensuality of his gestures and his lascivious attitude, all praising Hedonism; reach their climax here and demonstrate why this painting is one of Caravaggio’s most famous works.

Sick Bacchus or Satyr with Grapes

c. 1593

Oil on canvas, 67 × 53 cm

Museo e Galleria Borghese, Rome

It seduces any viewer contemplating it, so that under the charm of the natural and bewitching sensuality of the pagan god, the viewer is willing to follow him and be swept away by joyful bacchanals.

There is also another pleasure that features significantly in Caravaggio’s works: gaming. Games and gambling played a very specific part in his paintings. He created several paintings on this theme in which one can see groups of players with cards, chess, or dice.

Sick Bacchus or Satyr with Grapes (detail)

c. 1593

Oil on canvas, 67 × 53 cm

Museo e Galleria Borghese, Rome

One of the first altar-pieces he made, The Calling of Saint Matthew, caused a stir in Rome because the five characters were seated at a gaming table. One of them, seeing Jesus entering the room to announce his mission to Matthew, seems to take back the coins he has just won as if he had seen a thief coming in. In the Denial of Saint Peter, three soldiers deeply absorbed in a dice game divert the attention of the viewer from the eloquent face of the old man (the principal figure in the painting), which is very characteristic of Caravaggio’s work.

The Cardsharps

c. 1595

Oil on canvas, 94.2 × 130.9 cm

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth

To this series is added the famous painting The Cardsharps. The theories developed by the painter on realism are not sufficient to explain why so many gamblers frequented his studio and only his marked taste for gaming can explain the presence of these gamblers in his work. Caravaggio had a passion for gambling and often practised it like so many of his models. The heroes of spades and clubs seemed to him worthy of the kingdom of beauty, not because of his revolutionary ideas about art, but more because of his fascination with gamblers.

The Cardsharps (detail)

c. 1595

Oil on canvas, 94.2 × 130.9 cm

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth

Respect for the rules in gaming was of prime importance for the painter. Caravaggio thought that, morally, cheating was the most reprehensible wrongdoing of all. Stabbing an enemy in the back, insulting someone, attacking weak and defenceless women, or stealing a fellow’s purse were venial faults according to him. But cheating at cards or betraying the solidarity with a companion in a bar was the height of cowardice and abjection.

The Lute Player

c. 1595

Oil on canvas, 94 × 119 cm

The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

In his work, he treated fraudulent players with contempt, giving them unpleasant expressions from which one can read the severe and reproving judgement of the painter. The disagreeable faces of the cheat and his accomplice are therefore meant to inspire fear and distaste. On the other hand, the faces of honest players are like those of angels. Caravaggio himself may have incurred losses in gaming and among all the forms of revenge he used (he was not the kind to spare the offender), only the noblest and least terrible has remained.

The Lute Player (detail)

c. 1595

Oil on canvas, 94 × 119 cm

The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Likewise, he surely appreciated literature, otherwise how could he have written poems and been friends with Cavalier Marino, even if he had a certain aversion for Classicism and distrusted the Muses and the Parnassus? But music was certainly the art form he most appreciated after painting and it inspired him, as soon as he arrived at the home of the great music lover Cardinal Del Monte, to produce several works on the theme of music.

The Musicians

c. 1595

Oil on canvas, 92 × 118.5 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The paintings he created on this subject convey a sense of harmony, joy, pleasure, and serenity, sometimes melancholy, and combine the figures of young musicians placed in a realistic setting where the evocations of the ephemeral pleasures of terrestrial life abound (depicted with flowers, fruit, vegetables, and wine) and in which resonate the echoes of the pleasure provided by music (The Musicians). His work must be placed in its historical and cultural context to understand why Caravaggio asked young men to model for paintings with music for their theme.

The Musicians (detail)

c. 1595

Oil on canvas, 92 × 118.5 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Indeed, in the Baroque era, women were excluded from public performances. In church, priests asked young musicians, often trained by them, and young castrati to perform the vocal parts in their repertoires, like the famous castrati of the Sistine Chapel. The privileged place that music held in Caravaggio’s life and in his work also deserves to be highlighted. Many of the singers and musicians give life to his paintings, even when they are not the main subjects.

The Fortune Teller (first version)

c. 1595

Oil on canvas, 115 × 150 cm

Musei Capitolini, Rome

Paintings such as the Guitar Player, The Lute Player, the ecstatic Saint Cecilia, The Musicians, and Amor Victorious, in which orchestral instruments are included, are more than just virtuoso portraits or fortuitous series of musical subjects; they probably reflect the inner images of the dream-like world of this painter who was very sensitive to music. The poetry conveyed by the unexpected presence of the angel musician playing the violin in the Rest on the Flight into Egypt seems to confirm this hypothesis.

The Fortune Teller (first version, detail)

c. 1595

Oil on canvas, 115 × 150 cm

Musei Capitolini, Rome

In this painting, the Madonna and Child are dozing while Saint Joseph is patiently reading the musical score, and the long-eared donkey seems to be an attentive and privileged listener. This delightful work shows the passion of its author for music and his taste for humour and satire.

In the work of Caravaggio, melodic notes join the characteristic tinkle of the jester’s bells. If the painter adds some joke, even within the seriousness of drama or the majesty of history, legends, or religious mystery, it is to distract attention from its primary meaning.

Bacchus

c. 1596

Oil on canvas, 95 × 85 cm

Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

The work of Caravaggio also has a subversive dimension that manifests itself through humorous inventions. His jokes were not the placid laughter of those who satisfy themselves with a limited well-being in terms of their destiny and their fellow human beings, but were more of a satirical outlet for an irritable personality, always on the edge of a nervous breakdown; for a rebel fighting without faltering against men, life’s setbacks, and school traditions. Each burst of laughter was a mocking grimace, a vengeful insult, more or less disguised, and perhaps simple scorn.

Bacchus (detail)

c. 1596

Oil on canvas, 95 × 85 cm

Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Here he mocked the ungenerous host, there he wrote a mordant verse against Giovanni Baglione, here again he mocked commissioners, whether it be the religious patrons of San Luigi dei Francesi or the brothers of Santa Maria della Scala. Elsewhere, he might utter some gratuitously coarse words directed not only against conformism, but also against religion and fashion. His work was intended to shock and irritate orthodoxy, the Academy and the socialites of the time, and secretly he rejoiced as he advanced.

Rest on the Flight to Egypt

1596–1597

Oil on canvas, 133.5 × 166.5 cm

Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

This painter of earthly pleasures also knew how to be the champion of love. If certain paintings allow us to think that the painter admired gracious figures – for example the young blonde girl crying in The Entombment – the majority of his works attest to his predilection for strong and curvaceous figures. The young mother chosen as a model for the painting of Sant’Agostino is the perfect example of a beautiful woman whose sensuality embodies humanity.

Rest on the Flight to Egypt (detail)

1596–1597

Oil on canvas, 133.5 × 166.5 cm

Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

Caravaggio, who was an advocate of amorous pleasure, had an instinctive devotion to all women and behaved as a gentleman towards them in his inner self. Throughout his life he showed great nobility when defending the weak or when amongst the young people with whom he mixed while training with arms or for affairs of the heart. If in him the innate male disposition to court women was in conflict with the demands of another type of sentiment, the latter largely took over.

Saint John the Baptist

c. 1597–1598

Oil on canvas, 169 × 112 cm

Museo Tesoro Catedralicio, Toledo

Indeed, throughout his life, the painter often chose a delicate representation of femininity which offered him great possibilities aesthetically, while it seems that in reality he preferred partners of his own sex, as attested in one of his best works, Amor Victorious, in which the tyrannical character of love is symbolised in an exalted manner.

Caravaggio was not a slave to his amorous activities and he mostly had the penchants of an honest young man. His work clearly shows that he did not undertake anything excessive in this domain.

Saint John the Baptist (detail)

c. 1597–1598

Oil on canvas, 169 × 112 cm

Museo Tesoro Catedralicio, Toledo

But the Naturalism praised and initiated by him has inspired certain temperaments to lean heavily towards sexual excess. Some examples can be found in the painting by the painter Simon Vouet, a disciple of Caravaggio, entitled The Temptation of Saint Francis, in the Church of San Lorenzo in Lucina, in which a prostitute is undressing near a bed in a whore house and is lifting her skirt as did the famous Caterina Sforza.

Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto

1597–1600

Ceiling painted in oil, 300 × 180 cm

Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi, Rome

She is watched by a priest who is violently tormented at the sight of such a spectacle, and Vouet represents the scene frankly. How many artists have since been inspired by this very audacious duo to represent the “temptation of the saints”, a very fashionable subject at the time. It is clear that Caravaggio, the father of pictorial verismo, never indulged in this type of sensual exuberance. His imagination did not lead him to the fantastical excess that one can see in the numerous depictions of the temptations of Saint Francis and Saint Anthony.

Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto (detail)

1597–1600

Ceiling painted in oil, 300 × 180 cm

Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi, Rome

If he sometimes portrayed a female sinner, he has always draped her arms and chest with a heavy shirt. It never occurred to him to represent Venus, Galatea, or Andromeda, any more than Salome performing a provocative dance or the scandalous Suzanne at her bath. Neither does he depict Lucretia or Cleopatra with naked breasts, an idea that nevertheless seduced Guido Reni.

Judith Beheading Holofernes

c. 1598

Oil on canvas, 145 × 195 cm

Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica di Palazzo Barberini, Rome

It is not his lack of technique in painting the nude that is responsible for this absence of nudity. We know how successfully he reproduced the lines and textures of the human body, of children and angels, going as far as rendering the quivering and tensed breast overflowing with maternal milk.

One cannot accuse a rebel of his calibre, who did not hesitate to reproduce feminine and masculine anatomy, of being afraid to scandalise the religious figures and the laymen for whom he undertook commissions.