Lecture | Caravaggio’s Early Works: A Radical Rethinking of the Art of Painting

Caravaggio's Boy with a Basket of Fruit, arguably the artist's first masterpiece, represented a challenge to the established conventions of Italian painting. A depiction not of a god or a saint, the painting instead shows an ordinary boy, presented with remarkable frankness: he is as real as the basket of overripe fruit that he holds. In this lecture, curator John Marciari looks at the sources and influence of that painting and Caravaggio's other early works, in so doing offering an overview of the related exhibition.

John Marciari is the Director of Curatorial Affairs and Head of the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Morgan. He has published widely on Italian art and has been the curator of many exhibitions at the Morgan including Spirit and Invention: Drawings by Giambattista and Domenico Tiepolo and Sublime Ideas: Drawings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.

This lecture takes place in Gilder Lehrman Hall on the Ground Floor. Doors to the Hall will open 30 minutes before the lecture begins. Seating is first come, first served. Registration does not guarantee a seat. Attendees are encouraged to view Caravaggio’s “Boy with a Basket of Fruit” in Focus before or after the lecture.

Please e-mail public_programs@themorgan.org with questions about accessibility.