Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto (Caravaggio)
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| Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto |
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| Caravaggio , 1597 |
| Oil on lime plaster (Secco technology) |
| 300 × 180 cm |
| Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi, Rome |
Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto is the only known ceiling painting by the Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio . The work was created according to Ebert-Schifferer in 1599 .
Origin and history
Caravaggio created this painting for his patron Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte on the ceiling of an alchemist's chamber (now a corridor ) in the Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi in the Villa Ludovisi in Rome . It is painted directly onto the plaster with oil paints , an unusual technique , as it promised only a limited durability of the work of art, but in contrast to the fresco was associated with less effort and, above all, could be carried out more quickly, which probably suited Caravaggio's restless temperament.
According to early biographers, Caravaggio wanted in this work to prove to his critics , who accused him of having no instinct for perspective representations, that he also had sufficient talent for such academic painting techniques, even if he usually considered them unnecessary or even in his works was counterproductive and relied more on the still new, at the time quite unusual effect of the chiaroscuro , which could bring about dynamics and drama in the picture similar to sophisticated perspective tricks, but could convey the picture content even more emotionally. In any case, the three figures in this painting demonstrate a degree of dramatic foreshortening that can hardly be imagined more pronounced. With this painting, he also wanted to refute the accusation that he could only paint directly from the living model. Here he was working with preliminary drawings, but these have not been preserved.
Representations
The painting depicts the three gods Jupiter , Neptune and Pluto as an allusion to the cardinal's interest in alchemy : Jupiter stands for sulfur and air , Neptune for mercury and water and Pluto for salt and earth . The gods can be distinguished based on the animals assigned to them: Jupiter with the eagle , Neptune with the sea horse and Pluto with the three-headed dog Kerberos .
The casino with the ceiling painting can only be visited on request.