Rome has long been a key destination for artists. At the beginning of the 17th century, painters from across Europe flocked to the Eternal City to see the revolution caused by painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 – 1610). Everyone copied his stark contrast of light and dark, powerful realism and dramatic sense of staging. The works presented in this exhibition, all from the Museum and Gallery at Bob Jones University, celebrate how Caravaggio shaped the Italian Baroque and galvanized numerous followers.

 

Peter Paul Rubens (b. Siegen, 1577; d. Antwerp, 1640), “Christ on the Cross,“ ca. 1610. Oil on panel, 45 x 30 3/4 inches. Museum and Gallery at Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC.

 One of the main highlights is a Crucifixion by Peter Paul Rubens, who spent more than eight years in Italy.


Trophime Bigot (b. Arles, 1579; d. Avignon, 1650), “St. Sebastian Tended to by St. Irene,” n.d. Oil on canvas, 50 1/8 x 64 inches. Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University Greenville, SC.


Simon Vouet (Paris, 1590 – 1649), “Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist,” 1614–27. Oil on canvas, 39 x 29 1/8 inches. Museum and Gallery at Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC.



Orazio Gentileschi (or studio) (b. Pisa, 1563; d. London, 1639), “The Martyrs Saint Valeriano, Saint Tiburzio, and Saint Cecilia,” ca. 1620–21. Oil on canvas, 89 3/4 x 68 1/2 inches. Museum and Gallery at Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC.
 


Giovanni Lanfranco (b. Parma, 1581; d. Rome, 1647), “Saint Cecilia,” ca. 1620–21. Oil on canvas, 30 5/8 x 42 inches. Museum and Gallery at Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC.