Caravaggio's Friends and Foes: A Major Loan Exhibition at Whitfield Fine Art

London 27 May - 23 July 2010

LONDON, May 11, 2010 - Caravaggio's Friends & Foes is major loan exhibition held by
Whitfield Fine Art in London. The exhibition which will mark the 400th
anniversary of Caravaggio's death, will include paintings by his enemies the
painters Giovanni Baglione and Tommaso Salini, his friends Louis Finson and
Prospero Orsi, the painters Antiveduto Grammatica and Cavalier d'Arpino,
whose studios he worked in when he arrived in Rome, and close followers such
as Lo Spadarino, Orazio Gentileschi, Simon Vouet, Guido Reni, Pietro Paolini
and Jean Ducamps. Lenders include The National Trust, European museums and
leading private collectors.

(Photo:
www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100511/390886 )

The exhibition will provide fresh insight into Caravaggio
himself and provide a re-assessment of the work of artists whose lives were
touched by his genius. It is one of a number of events taking place across
Europe commemorating his death on 18 July 1610 aged only 38.

Among the highlights of the exhibition will be a a magnificent
self portrait painted in 1606 by Giovanni Baglione, arguably Caravaggio's
most bitter enemy. Baglione famously sued Caravaggio for libel in 1603 after
he had circulated satirical poems about a painting he had done for a church
in Rome.

Another sworn foe of Caravaggio represented is Tommaso Salini.
It is known that when the two men met by chance in 1601 Caravaggio struck
Salini with his sword. In the libel action two years later Caravaggio
referred to Salini as Baglione's 'guardian angel.'

Among Caravaggio's friends was Louis Finson, a figure of
primary importance in Caravaggesque painting whose contribution has often
been overlooked. The exhibition will show him in a new light and present this
direct contemporary of Caravaggio as an important painter in his own right.
Two major works by Finson will be included in the exhibition. Adam and Eve,
painted in 1610 (loaned by the University of Marburg, Germany) and the show
will also feature Saint Sebastian, a newly rediscovered masterpiece which
until recently was hidden away in a private collection in Germany.

Whitfield Fine Art is one of the world's leading art dealers
and specialists in Old Master paintings.

    Whitfield Fine Art
    23 Dering Street
    First Floor
    London W1S 1AW
    Tel: +44-(0)20-7355-0040
    www.whitfieldfineart.com

Monday-Friday 9.30am to 5.30pm and on Saturday 3 July and Sunday 4 July.

Catalogue GBP25 (160 pages, 113 illustrations)

Photo:
www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100511/390886

Whitfield Fine Art, 23 Dering Street, First Floor, London W1S 1AW, Tel: +44-(0)20-7355-0040