BURST OF LIGHT: CARAVAGGIO AND HIS LEGACY

March 6, 2013 – June 16, 2013

Burst of Light: Caravaggio and His Legacy explored the enduring legacy of renowned painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and his tremendous influence on 17th century art.

In addition to five works by Caravaggio—Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, Martha and Mary Magdelen, Salome Receives the Head of Saint John the Baptist, The Denial of Saint Peter, and Saint John the Baptist—the exhibition also featured nearly 30 paintings by his followers, known as “Caravaggisti.” These works revealed the artist’s impact on the use of dramatic lighting, emotionally compelling compositions, genre scenes, and religious themes in works by artists including Orazio Gentileschi, Carlo Saraceni, Orazio Riminaldi, Jusepe de Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán, and Michael Sweerts.

Burst of Light: Caravaggio and His Legacy at the Wadsworth Atheneum was supported by Bank of America and U.S. Trust with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the Department of Economic and Community Development Office of Tourism, and the David T. Langrock Foundation. Support for the associated education programming provided, in part, by the Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation and the Maximilian E. and Marian O. Hoffman Foundation, Inc. 

Additional support from the Morris Joseloff Exhibition Fund, Williams Family Fun, William O. and Carole P. Bailey Exhibition Fun, Howard Fromson Exhibition Fun, and Howard & Bush Publication Fund. With support from FRAME, the national tour was made possible in part by Sotheby’s, the Annenberg Foundation/GRoW Annenberg, the Robert Lehman Foundation, and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.