Caravaggio Capitoline Museums: The Works of Caravaggio at the Museums

Caravaggio in Rome? If you love art, you absolutely cannot miss his works in the Capitoline Museums!

Are you fascinated by Caravaggio’s rebellious genius? Want to find out which of his masterpieces are on display in the Capitoline Museums and how to admire them up close?

Caravaggio is deeply connected to the city of Rome, where he lived intense years amid successes, scandals and daring escapes.

His works revolutionized Baroque painting with their dramatic use of light and stark depiction of reality.

In the Capitoline Museums, you can admire two of his most famous paintings, La Buona Ventura and St. John the Baptist, masterpieces that show all the master’s expressive power and stylistic innovation.

Read on to find out where to find Caravaggio’s works in the Capitoline Museums, the story behind these extraordinary paintings, and how to best organize your visit!

A MOMENT! The Capitoline Museums are home to some of the most extraordinary masterpieces in art history, attracting thousands of visitors each year. Don’t waste precious time standing in line! Buy your skip-the-line ticket now and ensure quick access to the fabulous works of Caravaggio.

Caravaggio’s works in the Capitoline Museums

The Capitoline Museums preserve two original works by Caravaggio: the Saint John the Baptist (Capitolino-Pamphilj) and the Buona Ventura.

Both paintings show two fundamental aspects of Caravaggio’s art: his talent for reinventing sacred subjects in a realistic key and his ability to narrate scenes of everyday life with extraordinary naturalism.

Saint John the Baptist (Caravaggio Capitolino-Pamphilj)

St. John the Baptist, a work by Caravaggio, preserved in the Capitoline Museums

caravaggio’s Saint John the Baptist, also known as “Young Man with a Ram,” is one of the most emblematic examples of his art capable of blending the sacred and the profane.

History of the work

This painting is part of a series of seven versions on the theme of Young John the Baptist. An authenticated version by Caravaggio is the one preserved in the Capitoline Museums, while another copy, probably by Caravaggio himself, is kept in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome.

The work displayed in the Capitoline Museums was commissioned by the Roman nobleman Ciriaco Mattei to celebrate his eldest son’s birthday, and became part of the collections of Cardinal Francesco Maria Bourbon del Monte Santa Maria.

After a change of ownership, the painting was found in 1950 in the office of the mayor of Rome and later relocated to the Capitoline Museums.

Description of the work

In this work, Caravaggio depicts John the Baptist as a half-naked teenager, lying on a bed of leaves, with a ram clasped to him.

The traditional iconography of John the Baptist, usually associated with a lamb, is replaced here by a ram, which adds an element of ambiguity.

The young man’s posture is reminiscent of that of the naked men in Michelangelo’sSistine Chapel, but Caravaggio’s approach is more naturalistic and realistic.

The painter does not idealize the saint’s body, but depicts him with a tangible physicality, accompanied by an enigmatic smile that suggests to most a certain malice.

The background of the painting is dark and lacking in detail, a typical feature of Caravaggio’s style, which enhances the subject through the use of chiaroscuro.

The strong and dramatic lighting, contrasting with the deep shadows, is in fact one of the distinctive aspects of Caravaggio’s style.

The young John the Baptist, although a biblical subject, here seems to be more of a popular, realistic figure, with a sensuality that both disturbs and fascinates at the same time.

Stylistic Analysis

The painting fully reflects Caravaggio’s innovative characteristics. His ability to depict reality with extraordinary emotional power is evident in the accuracy of the details and the light that shapes the body of the young Giovanni.

The chiaroscuro technique, or the dramatic use of light and shadow, gives depth to the scene and accentuates the physicality of the characters.

The choice of a ram, rather than a lamb, takes away from the painting’s purely religious reading and brings it closer to a more earthly interpretation.

The ram is an animal traditionally associated with sacrifice, but not in the Christian sense; in this case, it could represent a more complex and ambiguous reading of John’s sacrifice.

The figure of the saint is depicted not as a sacred hero but as a human youth of great beauty and sensuality who seems more like a model of country life than a preacher of divine sacrifice.

The absence of a defined landscape context, another hallmark of Caravaggio’s style, is functional in focusing on the figure and theemotional intensity it arouses.

The young man’s body, modeled with intense light, almost seems to emerge from the darkness, as if the painter wanted to bring to light the brute reality of the subject, without idealizations.

In this sense, the work is as much a celebration of beauty as it is a reflection on the sacredness of the human body.

Curiosity and Influence

St. John the Baptist was so influential that it generated numerous copies, at least eleven, one of which is preserved in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery.

The pose of the young model, which recalls that of Michelangelo’s ignudi in the Sistine Chapel, has been the subject of debate.

Many scholars believe that Caravaggio wanted to play with classical iconography, using the young model Cecco, known to be both an assistant and probable lover of the painter, to reproduce that same iconic posture.

The sensuality of the young man and the ambiguity of the ram have fueled critical interest, which sees in this work a kind of “subterranean irony,” aimed at a small circle of connoisseurs.

It should be recalled that, in 1973, the Italian Postal Service dedicated a 25 Lira stamp to this very work.

The Good Fortune

Buona Ventura, a work by Caravaggio, preserved in the Capitoline Museums

The Good Fortune is an oil painting on canvas, made by Caravaggio between 1593 and 1594.

This work is an iconic example of the Lombard painter’s unique style, which again artfully mixes realism, drama, and psychology in its subjects.

History of the work

The Good Fortune was probably made during the period when Caravaggio frequented the workshop of Cavalier d’Arpino in Rome.

Radiographic investigations carried out in 1977 revealed, under the layer of paint, an earlier painting by Cavalier d’Arpino himself for the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, depicting The Coronation of the Virgin.

This discovery demonstrates that Caravaggio had a tendency to reuse existing canvases, reconfirming his pragmatic approach to artistic production.

The first buyer of this work was Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, an important patron who, when Caravaggio left his studio, welcomed him to his residence, the Palazzo Madama, where the artist continued to work.

La Buona ventura remained in the cardinal’s collections until, after his death, his heirs sold it to Pio Savoia.

In 1750, on the instructions of Pope Benedict XIV, the work was estimated to be purchased for the Capitoline Museums.

Since then, it has become one of the leading works in the Capitoline collection, where it remains today.

Description of the work

The painting depicts a scene of everyday life, typical of the streets of Rome. A gypsy woman, wearing a colorful dress and a turban, reads the hand to a young man from a good family.

As she shows him destiny through the lines of her hand, the gypsy makes a furtive gesture: with one hand she snatches a ring from the boy’s finger, taking advantage of his innocence.

Caravaggio, with his realistic and penetrating style, portrays the protagonists with great psychological intensity. The gypsy is characterized by a mischievous smile and an expression that suggests cunning, while the boy is naive, with a ruddy face that fully reflects precisely his disarming naiveté.

This contrast between the two characters is made even more obvious by details, such as the feather protruding from the young man’s hat, a symbol of a weak and easily influenced personality.

The gesture of the gypsy woman slipping off the ring is the highlight of the scene. Her skill in accomplishing this theft is accentuated by the movement of her fingers, which move lightly over those of the boy.

Another striking detail is the realism of the gypsy’s dirty fingernails, a trait that Caravaggio would take up in other of his works devoted to popular characters.

Stylistic Analysis

Caravaggio manages to mix elements of “genre” painting with deep moralistic reflection.

While the painting depicts a scene of everyday life, with its naturalist slant and realism that characterize the painter’s work, the work can also be read as a moral warning.

In fact, the gypsy woman’s deception could be interpreted as an allusion to the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk. XV, 11-12), with the boy being deceived by the false promise of adventure and wealth, losing his material possessions.

With this painting, Caravaggio, perhaps, with his typical psychological approach, urges the audience not to put their trust in those who try to seduce them with empty words or false flattery.

Curiosities and influences

One of the most fascinating stories related to The Good Fortune concerns the choice of model for the gypsy girl.

Tradition has it that Caravaggio had portrayed a real gypsy woman whom he saw passing in front of his studio.

According to biographer Giovanni Pietro Bellori, Caravaggio invited her to pose in his hotel, where he portrayed her in the act of predicting the future.

The painting was a huge success, becoming an inspiration for many Caravaggesque artists, such as Louis Finson, Valentin de Boulogne, and, in particular, Bartolomeo Manfredi, who adopted its realistic and dramatic style.

How to see Caravaggio in the Capitoline Museums

Detail of the faces of John and the ram

Caravaggio’s works are displayed in the Pinacoteca dei Musei Capitolini, located on the second floor of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, in one of Rome’s richest art collections.

More precisely, they are located in the room dedicated to Baroque painters and the great masters of the 17th century. In the same room, in addition to Caravaggio’s paintings, you can admire other significant works from the Baroque period.

When it is best to visit the Pinacoteca

You can visit the Art Gallery every day except from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm.

To avoid crowds, we recommend visiting during the week, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as the flow of visitors may be greater on weekends and holidays.

Also, early morning is usually a good time to enjoy a quieter experience.

Tickets available

All tickets to visit the Capitoline Museums guarantee access to the Pinacoteca.

A useful tip, if you want a quiet visit, is to book tickets online in advance to avoid long lines at the ticket office.

If you’re looking for an even more intimate and immersive experience, you can consider a private tour, which allows you to explore the works with greater peace of mind and deepen your knowledge of every detail with the help of an expert guide.

If you’d like to learn more about the different tour options and book your entry with one click, you can explore the topic further with this dedicated article of ours.

The connection between Caravaggio and Rome

Portrait of Caravaggio

Caravaggio, besides being one of the greatest painters in art history, is also one of the most fascinating and controversial figures of the seventeenth century.

Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, arrived in Rome at the end of the 16th century, and here he revolutionized painting with his unique style: unfiltered realism, characters caught in theatrical poses, and a masterful use of light-his famous chiaroscuro, which creates dramatic contrasts.

But Rome is not only the place of his artistic consecration: it is also the setting for a turbulent life of brawls, duels and problems with justice.

After a murder in 1606, Caravaggio is forced to flee Rome, beginning a wandering life that will take him to Naples, Malta and finally Tuscany, where he will die under mysterious circumstances.

Even today, Rome is the city that preserves the largest number of his works, many of which can be seen in some of the capital’s most important museums and churches:

• San Luigi dei Francesi, with the famous St. Matthew cycle.
• Galleria Borghese, which houses masterpieces such as David with the Head of Goliath and St. Jerome Writing.
• Palazzo Barberini, with iconic works such as Judith and Holofernes.

And of course, in the Capitoline Museums, where you can admire two fascinating paintings that tell the whole story of the master’s expressive power.

Caravaggio in the Capitoline Museums: frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Detail of the hands of the gypsy woman in the Good Fortune

Here we come to the end of this in-depth study of the figure of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and the two works of his contained in the Pinacoteca of the Capitoline Museums.

As we have seen, the Capitoline Museums offer an unmissable opportunity to immerse oneself in the art of Caravaggio, the artist who most revolutionized the painting of his time.

With works such as St. John the Baptist and the Buona Ventura, the museum is a place where light and shadow come to life, telling stories of dramatic intensity and unparalleled realism.

After looking in detail at the history, description and analysis of each work, we also took away the last doubts about schedules, tickets and tricks for a truly perfect visit.

And in case any doubts still remained, we went together to answer the most frequently asked questions about Caravaggio’s works in Rome.

Still have some doubts? Don’t worry, leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you in a jiffy.

And now that you know everything you need to know, all that’s left is to plan your visit to the Capitoline Museums. For a stress-free experience, book your ticket now and discover the fascination of Caravaggio with no waiting!