The effete ephebes of his earlier Roman years had given way to the brooding, worldly youths of his later years in that city and his later treatments of St. John the Baptist. One painting from his later years in Rome asserts itself in a most disturbing manner. For the Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani he painted the famed Amor Vincit Omnia (1602) (See below). It is a painting which many see as the capstone to Caravaggio’s homoerotic works and one which points to the artists polyvalent sexuality. However, Caravaggio’s sexuality is not the point--his sensibilities are. Sensuality and religiosity are the two aesthetic poles of Renaissance and High Renaissance art yet Caravaggio melded the opposites in his startling approach and technique. The sensuality of his later works are amplified by chiaroscuro and his use of radical naturalism.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Amor Vincit Omnia (Amor Victorious) (1602), Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
The subject was common in the High Renaissance and Mannerist periods and, indeed, Caravaggio’s model is common, a genre type. Caravaggio as he painted directly from the model did not idealize his Amor, but portrayed his ruddy cheeks, uneven teeth, touseled hair and the wings of a predator, an eagle! The symbols which abound ’bout the adolescent Amor are references to a patron: Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani. The arrows that the Amor holds in his right hand are later encountered in the dart of the Angel in Bernini’s Ecstacy of St. Theresa. In the face of this Amor, one sees a gleeful challenge. But, to what?
Caravaggio may have possessed a violent gene, he was certainly known to be quarrelsome, bellicose, contentious and belligerent. In 1600 he was arrested for a sword fight with a member of the guards of Castel Sant’ Angelo. Caravaggio was sued and jailed in 1603 for writing libelous verses about an fellow artist, Giovanni Baglione. He was hauled into court for throwing an artichoke into the face of an insolent waiter and later that year he was jailed for stoning a member of the constabulary. In 1605, he attacked the home of his Roman landlady and broke all the windows in the house with rocks after he was expelled for non-payment of rent, and was accused of injuring the notary, Pasqualone, in an argument over a girl called Lena--a girl of questionable reputation. In 1606, Caravaggio and his friends got into an argument with Ranuccio Tommasoni supposedly over the score in a tennis match. The fight ended with the death of Tommasoni. That has been the accepted story until a BBC documentary by Andrew Graham-Dixon who revealed that Tommasoni was a pimp for two young prostitute: Anna Bianchini and Fillide Melandroni. Both men sought their favors and in a rage Caravaggio botched an attempt to castrate Tommasoni, causing, instead his death. In 1608, having left Naples under a cloud Caravaggio went to Malta where he received the prestigious Knighthood of the Order of St. John Hospitaller, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Later he wounded an officer of the Order in a sword fight and was jailed and his knighthood was rescinded. He fled to Sicily, was set upon by emissaries of the Knights of Malta, severely beaten and disfigured. He died in 1910 at Porto Ercole, Tuscany, possibly from malaria while waiting for his pardon from the Pope. He was thirty-eight!
Unlike most of his contemporaries, Caravaggio eschewed preparatory studies for his compositions, preferring instead an alla prima approach to his painting. This mode when coupled with his naturalism and attention to detail--more a characteristic of northern Europe--created works of high emotional intensity. Add this to his use of startling chiaroscuro evolved into works that rent the prevailing sensitivities of all but a few. Not only was his technique and approach to painting revolutionary, so too was his approach to traditional iconography with regard to religious subject matter. His dramatic, theatrical approach swept away all former traditions. By 1600, however, Caravaggio‘s reputation was secured by the paintings: the Calling of Saint Matthew (1599) (See below) and Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599) (See below). The two large paintings were dramatic. They were theatrical. They were revolutionary.
Caravaggio’s treatment of St. John the Baptist with Ram (1602) (See below)--the second or possibly the third painting of the saint alone and unaccompanied--is impudently audacious bordering on scandalous. But, no less impudent or audacious than Donatello’s ephebe David (c. 1440) (See below). Not only does Caravaggio paint St. John the Baptist as a youth, he paints him nude. The young saint either melts into the background or emerges from it in a tantalizing series of diagonals and counter diagonals of brilliantly lit flesh and murky shadows! Here, there is none of the well lit idealism of Del Sarto or Raphael. From behind the luxurious figure of St. John the Baptist looms the menacing head of a ram. Not a lamb but a ram! The ram which traditionally is more a symbol of sexual excess than the “Lamb of God.” The saint embraces the ram with his right arm, turns his head and looks at us, the viewers. This young figure is sensually predatory, demanding confidential eye contact which creates a tension, a destructive tension forcing the viewer to react in ways they might not be prepared to do. Have we come upon the young saint in a private moment? If so, his glance does not communicate either surprise or embarrassment, but a rather taunting look. In this work, Caravaggio’s approach is far from orthodox and closer to heterodox.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (?), St. John the Baptist (c. 1598), Basel.
The attribution of the Basel St. John the Baptist as a work of Caravaggio is not unanimous. There is a question of the inclusion of the roses the young saint holds as being traditional of the Counter Reformation. However, the diagonal/counter-diagonal composition, the deep chiaroscuro, the ruddy cheeks, sunburned neck and hands of this genre model, as well as the attention to detail are hallmarks of Caravaggio’s style. The single, notable difference between this St. John the Baptist and his later versions is in the fact that the robe is not red.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (?), St. John the Baptist (c. 1598),Toledo.
As with the Basel St. John the Baptist, the attribution of the St. John the Baptist of Toledo is also not unanimous. The light value of the whole is much higher than the other works of Caravaggio, particularly in the upper left quadrant. But, his attention to detail and the employment of diagonals and counter-diagonals point to Caravaggio.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness (1604), Gallerie Nazionale, Rome.
The brooding, ruddy faced youth with sun-burned hands and neck points to Caravaggio’s use of genre figures. The face barely emerges from deep shadow as the young saint supports himself on the reed-cross. Again, Caravaggio employs diagonals and counter-diagonals in this painting.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness (1604), Kansas City.
Again the brooding saint. Is he contemplating his own future, his own impending death as he rests in the wilderness? The forboding look on the young saint’s face is mirrored in the dark background and the withering leaves at his feet, a contrast to the bright, vibrant leaves of the 1598 version.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, St. John the Baptist at the Well(1608), Bonelli Collection, Valletta.
Neither the Bible nor the hagiographic sources mentions this subject. Yet Caravaggio presents us with a genre scene that is perfectly natural.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (?), St. John the Baptist Reclining (1610), Munich.
Caravaggio takes the simplest of moments here and depicts the brooding St. John the Baptist resting.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, St. John the Baptist (1610), Gallerie Borghese, Rome.
Caravaggio includes the ram first seen in the 1602 painting, but here it is more a background ornament. St. John the Baptist not only seems to be brooding, he also appears to be weary. Gone are the confrontational looks of the 1602 St. John. Here we are forced into the contemplative mind of the young, ruddy faced saint.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Depicted Age of St. John the Baptist
In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, the writer narrates the story behind the miraculous conception and birth of St. John the Baptist. As revealed, St. John the Baptist was approximately six months older than Jesus Christ--a contemporary. One would expect, therefore, that when the two are depicted within a single picture frame, they would be expected to be of a similar or close in age. Numerous artist follow this model, this guide. Bonifazio Veronese (1523) and Jacopo Bassano (1570), like so many others, shows the baby Jesus as an infant, a babe in arms, while the infant St. John the Baptist has obviously begun to stand, if not walk. The two are shown as ideal, well fed, pudgy, almost ‘cute’ children that would illicit “Oooh’s” and “Ahhh’s,” and border on what one might view as a slightly kitschy representation of an infant (See illustrations below).
Bonifazio de Pitati aka Bonifazio Veronese or Bonifazio Veneziano (1487–1553),Madonna and Child with St. Catherine, St. John the Baptist, St. Dorotea and St. Anthony the Abbot (1523-1525).
Bonifazio was known for his efficient workshop rather than his paint successes. He was influenced by Giorgione and Titian, and was also noted for his cassoni (painted trunks) and other items of decorated furniture..
Jacopo Bassano aka Jacopo dal Ponte (1510-1592), Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist (1570).
Bassano first began to paint in his father’s workshop, then studied with Bonifazio de Pitati. He is considered unusual in that he remained his whole life around Venice, yet he was able to utilize the styles of many other artists as far away as Flanders via prints.
On the other hand, Michaelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s Holy Family with St. John the Baptist (1603) (See illustration below), while depicting the two children as close in age, presents them in a typical Caravaggesque style--i.e., a genre type of model, an ‘every day’ type. The Madonna is not idealized, but appears to be a young woman drawn from the masses. Caravaggio portrays the Christ child with a ruddy faced, colored by the sun. The representation of the Christ child hugging his mother’s neck for comfort and/or protection may seem to be quite natural, but this type of intimacy--i.e., of the Christ child towards the Madonna--is rarely encountered in painting before this period. The nudity of the Christ child may be a bit disconcerting to some as well. There is a long history of the portraying the infant Jesus nude, but an infant and a child are two different things. The models for the Christ child and St. John the Baptist could have been from two urchins taken off the streets. Caravaggio’s doe-eyed, peasant Madonna looks directly at the viewer as she grasps, not supports her son with her right hand while the rugged St. Joseph looks on. The whole may appear to be quite naturalistic, but, this type of naturalism had rarely been applied to the Holy Family before. In addition, there is something slightly disconcerting in Caravaggio’s Christ child as there is with the child Jesus in Parmigianino’s (Francesco Mazzola) Madonna with the Long Neck (1535) (See illustration below).
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio aka Caravaggio (1571-1610), Holy Family with St. John the Baptist (1603)
Caravaggio’s influence upon Baroque painting was immense; influencing such artists as Rubens. His stylistic influence--i.e., Caravagesque or Caravaggisti--was in contrast to the Carracciesque of the Carracci family
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola aka Parmigianino (1503-1540), The Madonna of the Long Neck aka Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome (1535).
A precocious young painter, Parmigianino was a master of the Mannerist style. Many of his figures were elongated giving them a worldly elegance. In addition, Parmigianino was also known for his etchings.
There are few representations of St. John the Baptist as a child without accompanying figures. None of the hagiographical sources dealt with the early life of the Saint. Those few representations depict the young saint in relatively neutral surroundings. Bartolome Estaban Murillo appears enamoured with the young St. John the Baptist as he paints the young saint a number of times. First, he depicts the young saint with auburn hair (c. 1645), pointing with his right index finger and the merest suggestion of the reed cross in the background. Then c. 1660, there are two representations of the Young St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness with the usual iconographic devices--i.e., the lamb and pointing finger. Finally in 1665 another representation, this time featuring a scarlet drape along with a lamb (See illustrations below). Murillo, as well as the other painters who depict the saint as a young boy, depict St. John the Baptist as an idealized, beautiful, glowing faced child.
Bartolome Estaban Murillo (1617-1682), The Young St. John the Baptist (c. 1645).
Murillo’s early influences were Francisco de Zurbarán and Jusepe de Ribera. His early works were genre subjects, however, he gained a reputation for his paintings of the Virgin and Child, and the Immaculate Conception and other religious subjects.
Bartolome Estaban Murillo (1617-1682), St. John the Baptist as a Boy (c. 1660)
Of the hundreds of representations of St. John the Baptist, few portray the saint as an adolescent, that is until the XIXth Century. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres depicts a young, adolescent, somewhat androgynous St. John the Baptist (1820) standing in a manner that suggests the arrogance of youth. The face is strangely feminine as he glances out of the picture plane (See illustration below). Some one-hundred years later, the German artist Theodor Baierl, who is sometimes referred to as a painter out of his time, depicted an adolescent St. John the Baptist (1920) with the sensitivity of a German Renaissance painter. The lithe young saint gazes lovingly at the lamb he holds and tenderly touches its ear (See illustration below). In both cases the saint’s masculine quality is yet to be realized.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), St. John the Baptist (c. 1820).
A Neoclassic painter who railed against Romanticism, Ingres considered himself a conservator of the Classic tradition. Biblical themes were overshadowed by Classical subject matter and portraits.
Theodore Baierl (1881-1932), St. John the Baptist (c. 1920).
Baierl’s sensibilities were more in tune with the Renaissance than the turn of the XIXth and XXth Centuries. An adherent to the Munich Secessionists, he idealized the past in both subject and composition.
Neither a subject possessing the androgynous character of Ingres young St. John the Baptist nor the litheness of Baierl’s concept is found in the composition of Raphael Sanzio (1518) (See illustration below). Raphael portrays a substantial young man of whom the softness of adolescence is fading and is emerging as a physically maturity being. The St. John the Baptist (1570) of Michele Tosini may be verging on physical maturity, but the artist presents us with a soft, oval face and hair that lacks the appropriate masculine quality of a young man (See illustration below). Tosini, as with many Mannerist painters, flirts with ambiguity in a manner that seems to defeat the intent of the subject.
Rafael Sanzio da Urbino aka Raphael (1483-1520), St John the Baptist (1518).
One of a triumvirate of great High Renaissance artist, the other two being da Vinci and Michaelangelo. Raphael was a student of Pietro Perugino and produced a large amount of work in his thirty-seven years.
Michele Tosini (1503-1577), St John the Baptist (1570).
He was apprenticed to Lorenzo Credi and later with Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. He was influenced by Fra Bartolommeo, Andrea del Sarto and Agnolo Bronzino. He work moved into the Florentine Mannerist style and became mannered, indeed.
Often when St. John the Baptist is depicted with Christ, they seem to be of similar size and age. A mosaic in the dome of the Arian Baptistery, Sta. Maria in Cosmedin (formerly the Basilica of Spirito Santo), Ravenna (c. 500), shows the moment in which St. John the Baptist baptizes Christ and the dove of the Holy Spirit descends. The same moment is captured in the Gold Codex of Gniezno (Codex aureus Gnesnensis) (a. 1075). Both representations portray the Christ and St. John the Baptist as approximately the same age and height; although in the Ravenna mosais the Christ appears to be a bit younger (See illustrations below). Another common thread in these two works is the representation of the Christ nude.
Early Christian Master (active c. 500), Baptism of Christ from Sta Maria in Cosmedin (c. 500), Arian Baptistery, Ravenna.
Traditionally, in Early Christian baptism, the person being baptized was nude. Mithraism and Early Christianity both performed nude baptism. This form of baptism was carried out until The Church decided that the nude figure was inherently sexual and, therefore, to be banned.
Master of the Gold Codex (Codex aureus Gnesnensis) of Gniezno, Poland (active c. 1075), Baptism of Christ (1075).
An angel holds up a white garment traditionally worn by one who had just been baptized.
It had been the custom in Early Christian baptisms for the one being baptized to be nude. This practice existed for at least five-hundred years. Clovis, the first King of the Franks was baptized nude, This was even portrayed some one-thousand years later by the Master of Saint Gilles (c. 1500) (See illustration below).
Master of St. Gilles (active 1500), Baptism of Clovis (1500).
The Master of St. Gilles portrays the moment when Clovis, the first Frankish King was baptized c. 509 C.E. after his conversion. Here the King is shown nude, standing in the baptismal font as Saint Remigius baptizes him into Nicene Christianity.
However, after the Early Christian period, the Church repressed and condemned the depiction of nudity, especially in the person of the Christ. Renaissance representations of the same act portray the Christ often with a simple white loincloth wrapped about his hips. Among others, Rogier van der Weyden (1455) and Guido Reni (1622) present the baptism in this manner (See illustrations below). Again both the Christ and St. John the Baptist were depicted as approximately the same age and height, although often times the saint was portrayed a bit heavier, more muscular.
Rogier van der Weyden aka Rogier de la Pasture (1399-1464), St John the Baptist Altarpiece, central panel The Baptism of Christ (1455).
One of the more famous Flemish painters of his time, his works were known through Europe. He was the student f the famed Robert Campin aka Master of Flemalle. Van der Weyden’s presentation of St. John the Baptist shows a much younger person than his portrait of 1450 (See below). The Christ gently holds a loincloth wrapped about his hips while an angel holds an outer garment to cover the Christ as he exits the water.
Guido Reni (1575-1642), Baptism of Christ (1622).
Having studied with Ludovico Carracci, Reni is known as a master of the High Baroque. The dramatic moment is captured as the Dove of the Holy Spirit descends on to the humble Christ at the moment of his baptism. Three angels wait in the middle ground with the robes to cover the Christ, who awaits the water white loin cloth wraps about his hips. The quiet standing Christ and the waiting angels is in contrast to the dynamic figure of St. John the Baptist.
There are a large number of compositions which do not show either the Christ or St. John the Baptist of contemporary age. These works frequently deal with the Madonna enthroned holding the baby Jesus in her arms or sitting in her lap. These compositions deal with what may be characterized as a theological time warp by associating important saints with the conception of the Regina Coeli.1 The Madonna and Child are placed upon a dais, seated upon a throne, and as Queen of Heaven her court consists of the attendant saints. Frequently St. John the Baptist is one of the heavenly courtiers. In the paintings: Madonna and Child Enthroned by Sandro Botticelli (1485) and Pietro Perugino (1493) St. John the Baptist is in attendance and bears several of his traditional iconographic devices (See illustrations below).
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, aka Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445-1510), Madonna and Child Enthroned between St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist (1485).
Botticelli has his Madonna sitting on an elaborate, stepped throne with St. John the Baptist standing to her right. The saint, holding a reed cross, points at the Christ Child and gazes out of the picture plane. St. John the Evangelist stands to the left of the Madonna and child. The Madonna glances at the babe and appears to be opening her bodice in preparation to feeding the child. The Christ child sits, unsupported on his mother’s lap and looks out of the picture plane.
Pietro Vannucci aka Pietro Perugino (c. 1446-1523), Madonna and Child Enthroned with St. John the Baptist and St. Sebastian (1493).
Perugino laid some of the groundwork for the High Renaissance and was the teacher of Raphael. His Madonna sits rather casually on the throne, gazing into the distance as she supports the babe. The Christ Child looks at St. John the Baptist. St. John looks at the Christ Child and points at him. The throne has a simple, rectangular, carved base. St. Sebastian stands to the left of the Madonna and Child.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Usually St. John the Baptist is portrayed as a man in his mid-thirties, as per Biblical references. However, there are those artists who portray the saint much older. Rogier van der Weyden (1450) and also Carlo Crivelli (1473) present a St. John the Baptist who is somewhat older, well into middle age (See illustrations below).
Rogier van der Weyden (1399-1464), Braque Triptych, left panel, St John Baptist (1450)
Van der Weyden portrays a St. John the Baptist who is securely in middle age, somewhat thin. He wears a red garment, holds a book (Bible) and utters: “Ecce Agnus Dei qui tollit peccata mundi” (Behold the Lamb of God that will take away the sins of the world). The background is a typical Flemish landscape.
Carlo Crivelli (c. 1435 - c. 1495), St John the Baptist (1473)
A Renaissance painter with Late Gothic sensibilities, Carlo Crivelli presents an older, elongated, emaciated portrait of St. John the Baptist with long, flowing, golden locks. He wears the camel skin garment and holds a reed cross with a banner announcing “Behold, the Lamb of God” to which he points.
Hieronymus Bosch (Jeroen Anthoniszoon van Aken) (c. 1450 - 1516), St John the Baptist in Wilderness (1489)
St. John the Baptist, head in hand leans against a rock and points to the lamb as he rests in a fantastical landscape. The saint is shown as an aged man wearing a flowing, red garment. There is no attempt at idealization, rather we are presented with a genre figure.
Geertgen Tot Sint Jans aka Geerten van Haarlem (c. 1465 - c. 1495), St John the Baptist in the Wilderness (1490)
St. John the Baptist is shown as an old man, somewhat emaciated, sitting in deep thought and somewhat dejected in the wilderness. A lamb is beside him. The whole is decidedly somber.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Iconography of St. John the Baptist:
the lamb, reed cross, camel hair garment, pointing finger & red
The iconographic devices which are associated with St. John the Baptist are items that are drawn from scriptural rather than hagiographical sources. First, the predominant symbol associated with St. John the Baptist is a lamb. This refers to his pronouncement, “Behold the lamb of God” John 1:29, referring to Jesus of Nazareth. Sometimes the lamb is depicted resting on a book--i.e., the Bible--or a plate. Second, another device that is often held by the saint is a long staff with a small crosspiece towards the top. It resembles, en forme, a processional cross carried in Christian rites and is sometimes referred to as a reed cross. Frequently this reed cross will have a narrow banner with the pronouncement from John 1:29. Third, infrequently, St. John the Baptist is painted wearing a camel skin or a garment composed of camel hair described in Matthew 3:4. This refers to his ascetic existence, particularly in the wilderness as well as his humility. Fourth, frequently, St. John the Baptist points with the index finger of his right hand. Again, this refers to his identification of Jesus of Nazareth in John 1:29. The finger may be pointing to the figure of Christ, his reed cross or towards the heavens. The pointing finger, although not specifically described in the Gospel of John, has been a one of the earliest iconographic devices applied to the saint. It must be noted that in few representations of St. John the Baptist do all these devices appear. Generally there is at least one or two symbols appearing, and in a very few cases, none! The mid-XVIth Century painting by Joan de Joanes aka Juan de Juanes is an example in which the artist encorporates the four Biblical symbols of St. John the Baptist (See illustration below).
Vincent Juan Masip aka Juan de Juanes or Joan de Joanes (c. 1523-1579), St. John the Baptist (1560).
Considered to be the premier painter of the Valencian School, Juan never painted a profane subject and took communion before starting a work. Juan de Juanes depicts St. John the Baptist as a rustic, with scarlet cloak and incorporates all four of the Biblically based iconographic devices in the painting.
There is, however, a number of paintings in which a non-scriptural, non-hagiographic “device” is found--i.e., a red garment or red drape. The appearance of a red garment or drape on or about the body of the saint is encountered so frequently as it assumes the role of a symbol.1 After the two renderings of St. John the Baptist (1528) by Andrea del Sarto (See illustration below), the use of red seems to be de rigueur for the depiction of St. John the Baptist in the XVIth Century through first half of the XVIIth Century. With the famed Caravaggio red becomes the hallmark of his various interpretations of St. John the Baptist.2 All but two of the numerous paintings of the saint attributed to him--i.e., St. John the Baptist (a. 1590), Basle, and St. John the Baptist at the Well (1608) Bonelli Collection, Valletta--Caravaggio employs a red garment or drape as a prominent feature.
Andrea del Sarto aka Andrea d’Agnolo (1486-1530), St. John Baptist (1528).
Andrea was one of the most sought after painters during the High Renaissance and Early Mannerist periods. However, due to his untimely death, his renown was overshadowed by da Vinci, Michaelangelo and Titian, his contemporaries.
In Christian iconography, the color red has many interpretations. It is emotionally the most intense of the colors. It may refer to spiritual passion, energy and the blood of the Christ. Also, it symbolizes action, confidence, courage, and is the color associated with Pentecost, representing atonement and humility. Red is the liturgical color for the commemoration of martyred saints and represents the Holy Spirit. As such one may view the red garments of St. John the Baptist as representing his martyrdom; spiritual passion and energy; as well as his courage and humility (See illustrations below).
Giovanni Baglione aka Il Sordo del Barozzo (1566-1643), St. John Baptist (c. 1600).
Working primarily in Rome, this Late Mannerist artist was involved in a drawn out, acrimonious verbal fracas with Caravaggio, even though he was strongly influenced by the master.
Cristofano Allori (1577-1621), St. John Baptist in the Desert (1620).
Son of the painter Allesandro Allori, the late Florentine Mannerist, Christofano was influenced by Caravaggio. Technically proficient, he copied several Caravaggio’s works so accurately that they were, for a time, thought to have been by the master.
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri aka Guercino (1591-1666), St. John Baptist at his Well (1661).
Influenced by Caravaggio in his early years, Guercino was later influenced by Ludovico Carracci and Guido Reni. What is noteworthy is the rapidity of his execution and the number of paintings he produced in his lifetime, many of them were large in scale.