Descriptive Essay Narcissus’“ Micheangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

Narcissus by Caravaggio
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Narcissus by Caravaggio
Narcissus is an oil-on-canvas painting with the dimensions 110cm by 92cm. It was created in 1599 by the baroque movement painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. It is currently displayed at the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy.
The subject of the piece, a young boy, is stable and free of tension. The painting is well balanced and symmetrical. The boy is posed in a way that evokes a poetic theme. Caravaggio re-used the models and costumes in his paintings because he could not afford to pay new models. This, however, did not affect the quality of his work. In this piece, the young boy is staring down in awe at the reflection of his image on the surface of the water. The imagery space of the painting is very close to the viewer. Caravaggio may have sat very close to the model of this picture. Applying his famous style, chiaroscuro, he manages to produce a dramatic contrast using golden lights and inky darks; an approach that makes the figure appear to stand out of the darkness. This effect also visually brings the image closer to the viewer. Most paintings of Caravaggio depicted a scene at the height of an action – just before the drama occurred. Looking at the painting, the viewer is carried from the real world into the scene of this famous mythological event. Narcissus leans forward to drink from the pool. His knee is brightly lit and acts as his fulcrum. His right hand is on the side of the pool, su…