The ‘Dark Visions’ Messages of Dramatic Illuminations in Neo-Baroque Masterpieces.
If Caravaggio was a photographer today, I would love to work with him. I love his dark vision — I have a dark vision.
Carine Roitfeld
Carine Roitfeld, a prominent figure in the fashion industry once quoted on her admiration of Caravaggio’s perspective as an artist while expressing her personality towards darkness in humanity exudes artistically. This French fashion editor is not only a former fashion model but also a former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris.
Allow me to steer you away to my very own personal points of perspective about the underlying meaning by a “dark vision”. I’ve extracted from the two very famous masterpieces of The Master of Realism, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and also our very own The Master of Imitation, Ali Nurazmal Yusoff.
Please bear in mind this is purely my perspectives from extracting texts of various sources while observing these artworks with zero intention to contradicting any professional expertise of the visual art background. I have high respects to all critics out there and highly appreciate your open mind.
The Cardsharps, c. 1595.
Painted in 1594, when Caravaggio was 23, The Cardsharps was one of Cardinal Del Monte’s first purchases. Caravaggio painted swiftly, with little preparatory work to the canvas, and had a remarkable ability to capture a moment in time. This early work displays the drama of a situation that must have been all too frequent in Rome in the 17th-century and offers us, the viewers, a salutary lesson about gambling.
Historical Context
Caravaggio has preserved this subject not as an exaggeration of corruption but in a novelistic way, in which the interaction of action and glance conjures the drama of dishonesty and lost innocence in the most human of terms.
- Cons (Swindlers) — In the background, a sinister-looking older man signals the victim’s hand to the cardsharp who takes cards from the back of his breeches to cheat and win the game.
- Dupe (Victim) — The intended victim of cheating, a fresh-faced youth in elegant and expensive clothes, plays Primero, a precursor of Poker, with another boy, the cardsharp.
Tenebrism (Chiaroscuro)
The physical observation is executed diligently with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro that came to be known as tenebrism — a style of painting developed by Caravaggio and other 17th-century Spanish and Italian artists, characterized by predominantly dark tones and shadows with dramatically contrasting effects of light.
Caravaggio was one of the pivotal figures in the history of Western art. In his short lifetime, he created a theatrical style that was as shocking to some as it was new, inspiring others to probe their subject matter for the drama of psychological relationships.
Kimbell Art Museum
Caravaggio has treated this artwork as a medium to expose immoral human atrocity devoured by greed and manipulation. Emphasizing the consequences of having too much trust and faith leads to future devastation.
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi).
Born Michelangelo Merisi, Caravaggio is the name of the artist’s home town in Lombardy in northern Italy. In 1592 at the age of 21, he moved to Rome, Italy’s artistic center and an irresistible magnet for young artists keen to study its classical buildings and famous works of art. The first few years were a struggle. He specialized in still lifes of fruits and flowers, and later, half-length figures which he sold on the street.
In 1595, his luck changed. An eminent Cardinal, Francesco del Monte, recognized the young painter’s talent and took Caravaggio into his household. Through the cardinal’s circle of acquaintance, Caravaggio received his first public commissions which were so compelling and so innovative that he became a celebrity almost overnight.
Imitation Master: After Caravaggio, 2009.
Ali touches on the basics of human consciousness with this painting. His learnings about human sociology, also taking into account Islamic teachings, narrate the painting as a whole notion of human nature.
Ali’s imitation of the visual has substantial interaction where he incorporated himself into the painting, making him the deal breaker — the game-changer. Extended into a further closure, giving his audience a feeling of security that the victim (dupe) will be rescued by Ali, himself before it’s too late.
Disparate the original canvas, Ali highlighted himself standing in the shades (dark) of the room; he had witnessed the inaudible exchange between the crooks and was ready to expose their trickery. Subtly expressing that there is a higher power above human morality is watching and there will be saviors roaming around on earth pursuing rescue plans — to give courage and power about “what goes around comes around” to his audience.
Ali Nurazmal Yusoff
Born 1978, this Penang native is a graduate of Fine Arts from the MARA University of Technology (UiTM), Malaysia. He achieved higher acclaim in the year 2012 following his figurative ‘ALISM’ show with his magnificent colorful realist paintings, impressive self-portraits, and reinterpretations of Caravaggio’s paintings.
Always displaying strong technical skills, Ali Nurazmal aptly embeds powerful yet subtle messages within his aesthetic works. His art repertoire is extensive, ranging from abstraction to expressionism to figurative realism. His work of masterpieces ranged from abstraction to figurative and now incorporating movement into his works. His first solo shows were launched in 2009, called ‘Satire in Paint’ housed at the Pace Gallery, Malaysia. Following his pilot showcase, ‘Telltale’ in 2010 also by the Pace Gallery, ‘ALISM’ in 2012 at the Core Design Gallery, ‘ReALISM’ in 2016 at the Art Stage Singapore and, ‘Beyond the Painting’ — Core Design Gallery. Stepping into a new phase of his life and detailed study of art through the years, Ali Nurazmal now seeks to share his observations on a more mature and serious note. ‘ReALISM’ touches on the basics of the human psyche.
Conclusion
What did we learn out of this about ‘dark vision’?
Was Caravaggio trying to educate his audience during the early 17th-century, the uses of tenebrism indicating although multiple human manipulations were happening in broad daylight — most justice lurking in the dark?
Did Ali Nurazlan extended the painting into a closure? It is as though he reveals there are always consequences in foul play — which does not turn profitable especially to the scammers.
From my personal observation (with no intentions going against any professional critics), the victim (dupe) in the painting resembles the current manifestation of a ‘pushover’ or a person who is easy to overcome and influence in the working world. If carefully observed, the victim has a comfortable connection to the conmen standing on his left. Let’s put it this way, it is as though, the famous idiom, “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.
However, if we look at the situation in another way around, the so-called ‘victim’ might be playing the poker face to his opponent, or is he pretending to show that look to the conmen next to him?
He could be playing along, trying to portray an oblivious persona, most probably letting the con feels safe to perform whatever damage. Maybe the victim has no regrets about what could happen; that’s what the con is best at doing for a living. This could be due to an understanding of certain circumstances of human behaviour by any previous life experiences.
By condoning their continuous sinister program, which eventually, will come to a disastrous end by the law of universe.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/karma-what-goes-around-comes-around_b_1081057
Hence, I would like to end this - depending on one’s actions, one will reap the fruits of those actions. The fruits may be sweet or sour, depending on the nature of the actions performed. Fruits can also be reaped in a collective manner if a group of people together perform a certain activity or activities.
