In 1817, on a visit to Florence, Stendhal was caught by a fierce heart pation after leaving Pazzi Chapel in Brunelleschi. He wrote it in the book Naples and Florence: Journey from Milan to Regio: “I've been afraid of falling to the ground.” In 2018, in Uffizi, a tourist stood in front of Botticelli The birth of Venus and suffered a heart attack. A few years ago, Italian psychiatrist Graziella Magherini diagnosed the condition and named it Stendhal syndrome, a problematic visitor in Florence while watching the great art Taste. In Greek, the term syndrome means fusion.
In the novel Caravaggio Syndrome (now reprinted several times in Italy and purchased in English), three characters – art historian Leyla, her gay student Michael and 17th-century utopian philosopher Tomasora Can Tommaso Campanella Seven acts of compassion. Leyla carries Campanella's book “Amulet”, while Michael shares her passion for the painting and her father to the child. Campanella's writings influenced the cultural environment of the early 17th century, Caravaggio's mercy Painting was commissioned by a Naples association that shared Campanella's philosophical beliefs. Therefore, magic is weaved throughout the book: passion, scholarship, mysticism, astrology, natural magic, dreams, fantasy, repentance and obsession. It is an exploration of body and spirit, baroque and sublime, immoral and purity, light colors and darkness. Just as Caravaggio's paintings illuminate these two states of existence, Campanella explores them through his writings during her 27-year prison sentence, other characters have to be with their own restlessness. An uneasy soul fight.
Caravaggio's paintings are based on historical events, but his genius is what makes them liven up. He uses natural light, silent spaces, deep black voids, blood red, absorption and immersion to blur the boundaries between the artwork and the audience. His paintings are performances. You stand before them, fascinated by their deep charming power.
“Every detail of this painting opens the door to another universe…as if it is heading towards a black hole,” Laila once pondered, wondering if a similar fate had ever been Tomaso Campane Tommaso Campanella.” Campanella secretly taught the same person from his prison cell, the man commissioned Caravaggio to paint and has now been sentenced to death. Michael, the third protagonist in the novel, looked at the painting, “appearing in front of him like the ancient Mastodon, high and powerful. Michael began to stare into Pero's image , Pero's raising (breastfeeding) her bound and imprisoned father, for the first time she noticed the small fabric crown she wore like a moon piece. “
In these details, author Alessandro Giardino creates a world of foundational reverence and extensive knowledge of Caravaggio's works. Giardino is an associate professor of world language, culture and media at Saint Lawrence University. Born in Naples, studying at the University of Bologna, UC Berkeley and McGill University. He has written extensively on Caravaggio's cultural circle as well as Italian and French literature.
In a series of conversations, we discussed Caravaggio Syndromethe works of Caravaggio and Giardino's life as a scholar.
How did this book appear?
With the fusion of many intrinsic motivations, it emerged organically, and writing novels seemed to be the only rational thing. I wanted to get a larger audience to visit my research, especially sharing some groundbreaking discoveries on one of Caravaggio’s most famous paintings. I also want to combine the syntax and lexical musicality of modernist literature while maintaining the rhythm and visual sense of the film. This is also a language challenge. I am Italian, I teach in English, and speak French at home.
Why did you choose to follow Seven acts of compassion?
This is a painting I have studied extensively because of its excellent quality. An interesting fact-even Wikipedia thinks I'm an expert in this painting! This work has always been my obsession for several reasons. First, it illustrates a unique transitional moment between the Renaissance and Baroque, where different worldviews of the two periods come together, resulting in the synthesis being both primitive and nearly impossible to replicate. Secondly, it is a superb example of Caravaggio’s innovation, especially his fusion of various visual and literal traditions. His range ranges from classical ancient and medieval angiography to Renaissance portraits while portraying real life in Naples in the 17th century.
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exist Seven acts of compassionCaravaggio's groundbreaking manipulation of light goes beyond the traditional chiaroscuro. He explores the inherent light inside an object (before Giorgio Morandi) and anticipates photography. This painting has great historical significance. Even though Caravaggio was in Rome, his unique approach became the ultimate reference for the transformative school of painting.
how so?
His painting style was between the Renaissance and Baroque. Neo-naturalism. Transitional movement. Revival is based on biblical texts and follows previous examples. Baroque exposes science and the Jesuits. During the first 30 years of the 1600s, art in Naples changed with Caravaggio. Art is in every church and becomes a pilgrimage place for artists. Pagans and saints in the paintings bring the audience into unprecedented photos.
How do you view this book now?
I still think it is a painting and a well-planned painting. With careful effort, I mean not talented – it is ridiculous to comment on my own talent, but the time and dedication to each sentence and chapter. The novel not only revolves around Caravaggio’s paintings, but also like Caravaggs-like paintings, like the way Gilsino paints. The book combines Caravaggio's content and style, oscillations between the sublime and dirty people, and his ability to work in different historical periods, breaking them down into a peculiar dramatic painting scene.
What is the response to this book?
Readers' comments are rich in traffic and vocabulary. As expected, readers will be attached to different characters. I thank this book for finding niche readers among global art historians. I'm particularly happy with its reception in the LGBTQ community, where it seems to offer a refreshing alternative to contemporary queer novels with simple identity and identity politics. Two years after the Italian publication, the book continues to be purely distributed and sold by word of mouth. I love that this happened after I left social media and became an invisible world.
Who are your favorite writers and artists?
This is this Impossible Questions – Just like being asked about your favorite food. The writers I delved into are Giorgio Bassani, Françoise Sagan and Marguerite Yourcenar. I talk to religious people in a way that they might communicate with their favorite saints. It was interesting that several critics compared my writing to a mix of Michael Cunningham and Umberto Eco. I always find that Eco's novels are too meaningful. In the book, I deliberately avoid any obvious display of erudition. This is a difficult task when dealing with historical, philosophical and artistic history studies.
Are you writing another book?
Yes, I am currently working on a second novel in which French liberals return to France after a long absence. Like my first novel, it will be combined with contemporary narrative. Although readers may recognize that my voice is a writer or my preference for speculative novels, the new novel focuses on the evolution of French high school society, a tone that is often associated with social satire.
What do you think these days?
I recently got a Garzanti volume called La Cucina: Regional cooking in Italy. It has two thousand “real recipes”. Since I was on academic leave until August, I planned to try at least half as I explored their historical changes.
