Caravaggio's Narcissus on display in Merate

To find another occasion in which the "Narcissus" was exhibited in Lombardy, we have to go back to 1998, in Milan. Before that, in 1992, the work was exhibited in Cremona. This masterpiece, made between 1597 and 1599, shows all the precocious genius of Caravaggio, who was just thirty years old at the time.

Despite Caravaggio's bond with Milan, his hometown, there are only two works by the artist present today in Lombardy: the Basket of Fruit at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and the Supper at Emmaus at the Pinacoteca di Brera. Although his artistic career reached its peak in Rome, the connection to his Lombard roots is evident in his painting style, characterized by a powerful realism that may have been influenced by the Lombard painters of the sixteenth century.

According to Giovanni Morale, deputy director of the Gallerie d'Italia in Milan and curator of the exhibition, one of the elements that made Caravaggio's "Narcissus" so popular is its intrinsic link with the myth narrated by Ovid. The young Narcissus, the protagonist of the legend, tragically falls in love with his own reflection in a body of water, after rejecting any suitor. In Caravaggio's representation, Narcissus becomes a powerful archetype, so much so that it is precisely this image that is immediately evoked when one thinks of the Latin myth.

Morale emphasizes how the work not only narrates the myth with great force, but identifies it totally, making it extremely iconic. This exhibition, the curator observes, is not only an opportunity to admire one of Caravaggio's masterpieces, but also to reflect on the meaning of the myth itself and its sociological and anthropological implications. Works of this caliber, adds Morale, are not limited to offering a simple artistic or historical reading, but invite us to a deep introspection. Caravaggio, with his art, urges us to reflect on ourselves and our existential questions.

The Villa Confalonieri in Merate was built between 1912 and 1914 on the initiative of Baron Enrico Confalonieri, a member of a well-known Milanese family of goldsmiths. The exterior architecture of the historic residence stands out for the symmetry and harmony of the forms, with a Mannerist-inspired façade that emphasizes the use of brick in contrast with the natural stone present in various elements such as the window frames and the elegant entrance porch. Inside the villa there is a large reception room with a majestic fireplace, paintings dating back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a fine wooden floor and a coffered ceiling decorated by the painter Costantino Frisia. The grand grand staircase leads to the upper floor and the private rooms on the first floor, enriched with portraits of famous artists, engraved between 1790 and 1796 by Giovanni Domenico Campiglia and Carlo Lasinio, masters of the art of engraving. The garden surrounding the villa is part of the Network of Historic Gardens and is home to centuries-old trees.

Edited by the editorial staff, Avion Tourism Magazine

Text source and visual: Fondazione Costruiamo il Futuro / Great Art in Brianza / Municipality of Merate

Photo Montevecchia Copyright © sisterscom.com / Depositphotos 

 

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