+ Caravaggio b.1571 Milan, Italy Bill Henson b Melbourne, Australia Comparison : Caravaggio and Bill Henson

+ Terms: Chiaroscuro: Italian for ‘light-dark’ refers to the contrast of light and dark to make forms look three dimensional Backlighting: light coming from behind the subject alla prima: Italian for ‘the first time’ or all at once; a method of painting in which the picture is completed in one sitting

+ Art-iculate Comparison Amor Vincit Omnia by the Baroque artist Caravaggio and Untitled #8 by contemporary photographer Bill Henson can be compared on a number of levels. In both, the subject matter is the naked figure of a male youth. Both use extreme light and shade to suggest aspects of the human condition, but unlike the animated figure in Caravaggio’s painting, Henson’s photograph hints at vulnerability and fragility.

+ Caravaggio and Henson - Recap

+ By all accounts, Caravaggio (1571–1610) was a volatile and violent man. He led a life marked by murder and exile and died before he was 40. Given these experiences, he painted many scenes of struggle, torture and death in his relatively short career. He was born at a time when the classical idealism of Michelangelo was considered the height of beauty. Like Michelangelo, he painted from life, but his models were ordinary people, including street children and prostitutes; and, in his religious paintings, they did not look particularly holy. This was controversial – while it was easier for ordinary people to identify with the characters in his religious stories, many of his patrons thought his figures were vulgar and some refused to accept and pay for his work. Caravaggio, Amor Vincit Omnia, 1601–02, oil on canvas, 191 x 148cm, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

+ Amor Vincit Omnia was inspired by a line from the Roman poet Virgil, ‘Love conquers all: let us yield to love!’ and was a common theme at the time. In the painting, we see the young god Amor, known to the ancient Romans as Cupid, spot lit against a dark and poorly defined background. On his back is a pair of powerful eagle’s wings and at his feet are symbols of war, music and learning. The young figure was painted from a model and reflects the artist’s acute observation of reality. Amor makes eye contact with the viewer and his cheeky grin is endearing. Caravaggio, Amor Vincit Omnia, 1601–02, oil on canvas, 191 x 148cm, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

+ Melbourne Photographer Bill Henson (born 1955) also works with live models. The subject in Untitled #8 is an adolescent male, no longer a child, not yet an adult, and unlike Amor, he avoids our gaze. He remains anonymous and is indifferent to the camera, lost in his own private thoughts. This quality of separateness enhances the tenderness and mystery of the image and increases the vulnerability of the figure. We, the viewers are voyeurs, unseen observers. Bill Henson, Untitled #8, 2007–08, Type C photograph, 127 x 180cm. Courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney

+ Comparison

+ Both Caravaggio and Henson use light as a powerful tool in their artworks. Caravaggio’s paintings are known for their chiaroscuro. He used it not only to suggest three-dimensional form, but also to heighten the sense of drama by deepening the shadows and increasing the strength of the light. The figure of Amor is posed and appears to be illuminated by a spotlight.

+ Henson uses light in a similar way in Untitled #8. The figure emerges from the rich black darkness outlined by backlighting. Both time and space seem ambiguous; he appears to be in a twilight zone between waking and sleep. Henson’s long exposures create finely focused photographs and enhance their dreamlike melancholy. His large format images are painstakingly produced in the darkroom. The name Untitled hints at the fact that Henson wants to leave the meaning of the image open for the viewer. In the absence of a narrative, we are forced to use our imagination to interpret the ambiguous, moody, casual drama.

+ Caravaggio’s painting technique, on the other hand, was characterised by immediacy. He worked alla prima, straight onto the canvas, sometimes scratching the lines of the composition directly onto the canvas with the handle of the brush. He generally finished each work in one sitting, without the preliminary drawings that, at the time, were thought to be essential. Both artworks are large and the artists have used a restricted palette. The portrait format of Amor Vincit Omina echoes the verticality of the figure and contains clues about the ‘story’ told through symbolism, while the horizontal format of Untitled #8 forces us to think about the empty space that surrounds the model.

+ The explicit nakedness of the young Amor in Amor Vincit Omnia and the suggested nakedness of Henson’s figure in Untitled #8 confront the viewer when the works are first seen. It has been said, but remains disputed, that Amor Vincit Omina was kept behind a curtain by its owner and only revealed to a select few men. In a similar way, the use of young naked models has lead to controversy around Henson’s photographs.