ArtFIFA 2016: Caravage-Caravaggio

Caravage

Film by Jean-Michel Meurice

France | French | 2015 | 52 min

CANADIAN PREMIERE

The film presents the short and tortuous life of the Italian late Renaissance painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, simply known as Caravaggio (Caravage in French). He trained as a painter in Milan under Simone Peterzano who in turn had trained under Titian.

In 1600, in his twenties, Caravaggio moved to Rome, and conquered the Rome’s art scene with his first public commissions, the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and Calling of Saint Matthew. After that he never lacked commissions or patrons but handled his success poorly. He often engaging in street brawls, and in 1606 killed a man, most likely unintentionally. After that he escaped to Naples, and later to Malta. But he did not stay long in Malta.  He once again participated in a brawl, and regardless of the great success he had with his commissioned paintings, landed in a prison, from which he managed to escape. His life was not too long after that.

The film describes all the twists and turns of this very talented young artist’s life. It shows many of his painting and gives details of who commissioned them and when. It draws a parallel between the brutal biblical scenes he immortalized in his canvas and his own life path.

Official Synopses:  

"The life of Caravaggio (1571-1610) was brief and violent. After ten years of triumphs in Rome, lucrative commissions from powerful sources, a dangerous attraction to the lowest depths of society, endless quarrels, several imprisonments, a death sentence for murder and a forced exile on the run, this quick-tempered and irascible man died at the age of 39. His oeuvre as we know it today stems from the tireless work of historians. Of the more than 500 canvases attributed to him three centuries after his death, less than fifty were actually his. This film investigates 22 major works in Rome, Malta, Paris, Rouen and Montpellier."

Jean-Michel Meurice

Jean-Michel Meurice is a painter and filmmaker. He is a co-founder of ARTE, which he directed from 1986 to 1989. He is also a producer, author and director of monthly magazines devoted to the plastic arts on French television.

Filmography | Simon Hantaï, les silences rétiniens (1978) ; Pierre Soulages (1981), 1er FIFA ; Bram van Velde (1980), 20e FIFA ; Cory Aquino (1989) ; Solidarnosc (1990) ; Apartheid (1992) ; La parade des saigneurs (1995) ; Familles macabres (1996) ; Un doux rebelle : Julien Green, journal d'un siècle (1997), 17e FIFA ; L'orchestre noir (1998) ; Alechinsky pris sur le vif (2004) ; Velickovic, les apparences de la peur (2005), 24e FIFA ; Le vrai pouvoir du Vatican (2010) ; Algérie, notre histoire (2011).

Production Team:

Cinematography Valentin Caron
Music Gérard Cohen-Tannugi
Narration Philippe Faure, Anna Flori-Lamour
Participation Sybille Ebert-Schifferer, Michel Laclotte, Michel Hilaire
Artists Le Caravage, Sybille Ebert-Schifferer, Michel Laclotte, Michel Hilaire
Producer Fabienne Servan Schreiber, Laurence Miller, Emélie De Jong
Production ARTE France, Cinétévé
Distribution Poorhouse International

For more information and film scheduling, visit the Art FIFA website.

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