She's Quite the Bunny....

In an attempt to find other artist's renditions or interpretations of this work, I came across some interesting information.

Turns out that the woman who was beheading Holofernes in a previous Caravaggio work is the same woman posing as a Mary Magdelene. So my Judith/Mary had an adaptable face. I hadn't noticed. I took a look now and lost confidence in myself as an observant member of the aud art community.

The painting I've chosen is also referred so as "The Conversion of Mary Magdelene". I'm guessing from naughty to nice. It is said that her sister Martha - the frumpier member of the scene - tried to convince her sister to improve her....um...outing habits.

The Bible reference, since it is Easter today, is in John 11:5

"Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus."

So Lazarus is the mirror?

I never said i read the Bible :)

Since my search for sketches or roughs of this work were unsuccesful, I decided to have technology assist me in the breakdown of Caravaggio's genious. In the same manner that I learnt how he could have possibly employed a "Camera Obscura" to create outlines and proportional relations on his canvases....I will use available tools to help recreate the scene he presented. And so the cycle continues



I first transformed the image in photoshop to grayscale in order to better note the shifts in contrasts that Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was renowned for. I wanted to play with the brightness and contrast to observe the movements on the shadows.

I only began artistic endevours outside music in this university in the Fall term 2006. My confidence in picking up a pencil and sketching with attention to these things is absent as of yet. I think computers allow my brain to adapt the images from a familiar medium through my eyes...then when im manually comfortable all the photographic observations will translate into a wicked sketch. Until then, this is my guide...



The grainy-ness of the image aside...this helps me note where the source of light is allegdly eminating from (camera obscura taken into account). The flash or flare of the camera seems to be in 2 places strangely enough, but moreso on the wall behind martha then moving through from her to Mary and the far right. For recreating the scene this helps me envision where the camera is going to be located....and how the lighting needs to be arranged.

We have painting tommorow morning, I think I might just ....go into a little corner...huddled with both printouts and attempt.....maybe.....

Should I bring Ink?

I'll see.

Im very curious about Caravaggio's personal goings on. He seems awfully moody. Maybe he's gemini or sumthing. Well, now you know my next entry is going to be the dissection of the masters life.

How did they say good-bye in the renaissance?

Aribaderci!