Film 5: Caravaggio / Schama

Simon Schama is an art historian who hosts Power of Art. He has studied and taught history and art history at college levels and is an established, award-winning publisher.

My favorite work of Caravaggio is called Basket of Fruit. This is an oil painting on canvas. The first thing I notice about this painting is how "light" it appears compared to his other works. This however is deceiving.  If you look closing, the fruit mostly appears to be dead, withered, growing mold, or infected with insects. The second thing I notice is that while somethings appear somewhat 3D, such as the apple, other things look rater flat such as the leafs. The third thing that I noticed was the detail of the basket.

I believe that Schama used dramatic lighting as a way of mimicking Caravaggio's paintings. I don't feel that this makes the Schama's stories any more or any less believable. I find it to be more of an tribute or compliment to the artist.

Discussion Question
Do you feel that Caravaggio's use of contrasting light is sometimes too dramatic?