Episode 8: Caravaggio’s Taking of Christ [& Extras]

All episodes are now available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Buzzsprout. Happy listening! Want to support the podcast? The best way to do that is to leave a rating and/or a review! You can also contribute as little as $1 to the continued production and maintenance of the podcast by “buying me a coffee” at https://buymeacoffee.com/stuffaboutthingspodcast. Sources and Links:

Harr, Jonathan. The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece. 1st ed. New York: Random House, 2005.
- One of my absolute favorite “fun” art history books. I first read it when I was a 17-year-old who knew nothing about art history and I couldn’t put it down. I recently re-read it in preparation for the podcast episode and, once again, read it cover-to-cover in a single sitting. It is basically an art history detective story… that actually happened. Better yet, it is likely that your local library has a copy of the book!
- Harr wrote the book as an expansion of his article “A Hunch, an Obsession, a Caravaggio,” which appeared in the New York Times on December 25th, 1994.

Spear, Richard. “Caravaggiomania.” Art in America 98, no. 11 (December 2010): 115–25.
For an accessible yet thorough biography of Caravaggio, try out Andrew Graham-Dixon’s Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.

Articles by Sergio Benedetto, the conservator at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin who “discovered” and performed extensive conservation efforts on Taking of Christ.
- “Caravaggio’s Taking of Christ: A Masterpiece Rediscovered.” The Burlington Magazine 135, no. 1088 (1993): 731–41.
- “Caravaggio’s Taking of Christ.” The Burlington Magazine 137, no. 1102 (1995): 37–38.
- Cappelletti, Francesca, and Sergio Benedetti. “The Documentary Evidence of the Early History of Caravaggio’s Taking of Christ.” The Burlington Magazine 135, no. 1088 (1993): 742–46.
  - An essay co-authored with Francesca Cappelletti, the young scholar who traced the provenance of Taking of Christ. Dr. Cappelletti features prominently in Harr’s book.

Know a Caravaggio lover? I recommend the coffee table book Caravaggio: The Complete Works XL. This massive book has some of the most beautiful reproductions of Caravaggio’s works that I have ever seen! There is also a smaller, more affordable version of the book.

For fun, watch the episode on Caravaggio from Simon Schama’s Power of Art, a BBC television production featuring a young Andrew Garfield as one of Caravaggio’s muses. Available on Youtube.

Related Images:

Caravaggio, *Taking of Christ*, 1602, oil on canvas, in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland. [Image Credit: National Gallery of Ireland]

Caravaggio_-_Bacco_adolescente_-_Google_Art_Project — Caravaggio, *Bacchus*, c. 1595, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. [Image credit: Wikipedia]

concert — Caravaggio, *The Concert*, 1597, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, NY. [Image credit: MET]

Caravaggio_-_Boy_Bitten_by_a_Lizard — Caravaggio, *Boy Bitten by a Lizard*, c. 1595, oil on canvas, in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in London, England. [Image credit: National Gallery of Art, London]

1166px-The_Calling_of_Saint_Matthew-Caravaggo_(1599-1600) — Caravaggio, *The Calling of St. Matthew*, c. 1599-1600, oil on canvas, in the Contarelli Chapel in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, Italy [Image credit: Wikipedia]

Caravaggio_-_Sette_opere_di_Misericordia — Caravaggio, *The Seven Acts of Mercy*, 1607, oil on canvas, in the Church of Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples, Italy [Image credit: Wikipedia]

David_with_the_Head_of_Goliath-Caravaggio_(1610) — Caravaggio, *David with the Head of Goliath*, c. 1600, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy. **head of Goliath is purportedly a self-portrait of Caravaggio** [Image credit: Wikipedia]

902px-Bild-Ottavio_Leoni,_Caravaggio — Ottavio Leoni, *Portrait of Caravaggio*, c. 1621, in the collection of the Biblioteca Marucelliana in Florence, Italy. [Image credit: Wikipedia]

Gus Content [A special Caravaggio edition!] A Fruit Basket with Puppy [feat. baby Gus]

gus plant — Original: Caravaggio, *Basket of Fruit*, c. 1599, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, Italy.

The Fortune [Old] Yeller [feat. Gus and Leenz]

Gus Cards — Original: Caravaggio, *The Fortune Teller*, c. 1594, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France.

The Incredulity of St. Thomgus

Incredulity of Gus — Original: Caravaggio, *The Incredulity of St. Thomas*, 1601-02, oil on canvas, in the collection of the Sanssouci in Potsdam, Germany.

Calling of St. Gustavus

The_Calling_of_Saint_Matthew-Caravaggo_(1599-1600) copy — Original: Caravaggio, *The Calling of St. Matthew*, 1599-1600, oil on canvas, in the Contarelli Chapel of the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, Italy.

Thanks so much for listening to the podcast and making your way to the website! I hope you enjoyed the episode and the images. Over and out! -Lindsay

2 thoughts on “Episode 8: Caravaggio’s Taking of Christ [& Extras]”

Nancy May 29, 2025 — 12:04 am

I recently found your podcast and am loving the content. I have been listening to an episode each day while taking my dog for a walk. Quite an enjoyable listen!

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1. (Post author)
  
  Lindsay Sheedy June 29, 2025 — 10:52 pm
  
  Thanks, Nancy! I am so glad to hear it. I love walking–all the more so if a dog is involved–so it’s delightful to hear that my voice accompanies you on your daily jaunts. Please do give your dog some love from me. -Lindsay
  
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