Symbolism of blood in two masterpieces of the early Italian Seicento

Description

Research paper presented at the 'Blood Conference' organised at St Anne's College, University of Oxford on 8-10/01/2014

Throughout history, blood has been associated with countless meanings, encompassing life and death, power and pride, love and hate, fear and sacrifice. In the early Baroque, thanks to Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi, blood was transformed into a new medium, whose powerful symbolism lead European art into a new era characterised by a high degree of emotional intensity. Through this paper I propose that both Caravaggio and Artemisia adopted blood as a symbolic representation of their own life-stories, understanding it as a vehicle to express intense emotions of fear and revenge.

Period	9 Jan 2014
Held at	University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	International