Caravaggio's canvases at display in Warsaw's Royal Castle

Michelangelo Merisi called Caravaggio (1571 - 1610) was one of the most innovative Baroque artists. The Italian painter was active between 1593 and 1610 in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily.

Two of his works are now at display in Warsaw's Royal Castle: Boy Bitten by a Lizard and Narcissus.

The former is one of Caravaggio's early works and exists in two versions, with both believed to be authentic. One is housed in the Fondazione Roberto Longhi in Florence, the other in the National Gallery, London.

Narcissus, from the artist's later period is at permament exhibition at the Palazzo Barberini in Rome, and it has just been loaned out to Warsaw.

"The classical myth of Narcissus had been frequently represented since antiquity, but the version by Caravaggio is distinguished by its unusual compositional scheme, conceived rather like a playing card: the lower half is a mirror image of the upper, as if the painter had turned the upper part of the canvas through 180 degrees to obtain the figure’s reflected image. The composition is appropriate to the story of the young hunter who fell in love with his own image mirrored in the water," we read at the Palazzo Barberini website.

The exhibition also includes over 40 paintings by Caravaggio's followers and those inspired by his style. The artist's legacy survived largely thanks to an eminent Italian art historian Roberto Longhi (1889-1970).

"Caravaggio’s style paved the way for a new generation of painters. A trend known as Caravaggionism developed. Merisi’s followers include, among others, Carlo Saraceni, Bartolomeo Manfredi, Orazio Borgianni, and Valentin de Boulogne," we read at the exhibition official website. "Moreover, Merisi's paintings influenced such leading Baroque artists as Rubens, Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Velàzquez".