Caravaggio's world

At the end of the 16th century, Caravaggio began to paint a new and vivid array of subjects drawn from the everyday world around him. From soldiers and cardsharps to sex workers and Romani fortune tellers, they proved hugely influential for subsequent generations of artists.

Join fashion specialist Elizabeth Currie and art historian Helen Langdon to discover how these works relate to the real lives of the urban poor and the artist himself. Court documents, for example, evoke Caravaggio’s adventures on the often rowdy and violent streets of Rome. Yet the talk will also reveal how his depictions of the clothing and appearances of ordinary people depended on well-worn stereotypes from prints, literature and theatrical performances.

Dr Elizabeth Currie is a lecturer and author specialising in the history of textiles and fashion. Currently teaching at Central Saint Martins with previous roles at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Currie has published widely on fashion and design for general and specialist audiences. Dr Elizabeth Currie's book, 'Fashion and masculinity in Renaissance Florence' was published in 2016.

Dr Helen Langdon, formerly Assistant Director of the British School at Rome, is an art historian with a special interest in the Roman Baroque. She is the author of Caravaggio; a Life (1999) and books on Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa. She is currently curating an exhibition, Caravaggio’s Cupid, to open at the Wallace collection in the Autumn.