PENTIMENTI

Pentimenti: translation

Strokes of paint added by an artist to correct or modify the various elements of a composition.Pentimentiare invaluable for the art historian in that they reveal the act of creation. These can be observed with the naked eye as the surface layers of paint begin to fade, or through x-rays. A painting where thepentimentiprovide a wealth of information is Caravaggio'sMartyrdom ofSt.Matthewin theContarelli Chapel, Rome(1599-1600, 1602). Caravaggio paintedalla prima, a method that results in manypentimentias the artist who uses it works out the composition directly on the panel or canvas. Thepentimentiin Caravaggio's work, seen through x-rays, reveal his lack of confidence in tackling the complex composition. The contract for this work called for a scene in a church interior with steps leading up to it and many figures. The x-rays show that the figures were originally smaller and that many modifications were also made to the overall arrangement of the interior space.