At the start of this class i was excited to be learning about some of my favorite artists. Raphael, Michelangelo, DaVinci, and of course Caravaggio. These artists are my inspiration for my own paintings, Caravaggio especially.

Caravaggio, to me is the epitome of painters in his time period. Using dark backgrounds and harsh highlights, he gives us a story that beautifully captures the emotion of the people involved. To me his ability to capture depth and emotion through the use of highlights is an amazing one. Whenever i look at his paintings i hope that one day i will be able to capture light and shadow so beautifully. One thing that Caravaggio keeps the same within his pictures is his use of a dark background. With little detail in his background, he can put more emphasis on the detail of the foreground, specifically the people who are telling his story. Caravaggio uses extreme highlights and shadows on his subjects to illuminate their faces and actions.

Caravaggio's Narcissus is one of my favorite paintings. What i love most about the painting is the Greek mythology story that it is based off of. In this story, Narcissus who scorned the love of all women, died looking into his reflection. As he died his body turned into the flower narcissus. Caravaggio's painting expresses the moment in which Narcissus first gazes upon his own reflection. The moment in which his body will forever be trapped along the banks of the lake.

As i looked at paintings for inspiration for my own Narcissus painting, Caravaggio's painting immediately grabbed my attention. The artist was able to capture the exact moment in which the story is told. For my own project i wanted to capture the same feeling, however i would never want to outright copy Caravaggio. In my painting Narcissus i decided to interpret the moment right after he died, but right before he has fully turned into flowers. To me this in between point captured a story, similar to that of Caravaggios. T wanted to make my painting with the same feel. To be able to tell a story without having to illustrate the whole thing.

Jennifer