To the martyrdom of the legendary Breton Saint, Caravaggio dedicated his last painting, in which he portrays himself, as for other masterpieces, as a spectator of the tragic scene. This time he is right behind the protagonist and in an almost dying attitude. The arrow that struck Orsola seems to have struck him too. After having expiated in the soul the guilt of the murder of which he was responsible and experienced the suffering of the forced exile that saw him escape from the death penalty across the south Italy and up to Malta, Caravaggio was finally about to return to Rome, hopeful to receive the grace from Pope Paul V. Shortly after his departure and almost arrived at destination, as we know, he died in circumstances still unclear today. The painting has come to us very damaged, but it remains a great masterpiece in which Caravaggio uses a faster technique and a more frayed brushstroke, perfecting the use of the palette of the great ancient painter Apelles, formed of only 4 colors, sacred to many ancient traditions: white, yellow, red and black. These are some images of the birth and the exposition of master study of this eternal masterwork.
his painting that I realized in 2016.