Our visit to the Toledo Museum of Art this March, 2024, for the primary purpose of checking out their Caravaggio exhibit, deserves and article unto itself. Please check out my primary Caravaggio page on this site for more info and background into our low key obsession of traveling to and viewing all of the Caravaggio paintings in the world!

We were thrilled when we found out that four out of the eight Caravaggio paintings in the USA would be glammed up and housed in a museum not too far from home for a few months this spring. While this was our third time seeing “Martha and Mary Magdalene”, and our second time checking out the colorful “Cardsharps”, we would also be seeing two new-to-us paintings as well – “The Musicians”, and “St. Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy”.

The Toledo Museum of Art is free to go into, but the exhibit itself cost $10 per person, a steal, considering what you were about to see! We spent about an hour total at this space, swept away by the way it was set up – the dark room, the background wall paint chosen carefully to illuminate the paintings, and the short, yet informative audio guide adding another layer to this amazingly crafted exhibit. We loved the short film about Caravaggio’s signature technique, as well as the small library, complete with a backgammon board which was a cute touch. While most of the info on the audioguide, film, and write-ups were not new to us, I’m sure that folks less familiar with Caravaggio’s works and his life would have gotten a lot of great information here.

This exhibit was stunning primarily because of how it was set up, and the different background paints used to really accentuate the paintings. Some of our complaints about how Caravaggio paintings are displayed in museums around the world, are the crummy lighting and glare on the paintings. Even at our home museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the paintings were hung super high on the wall, and against a kind of too-bright gray background that washed out the paintings, rather than added to them.

The space was generally quite dark, allowing the light from the paintings to really pop. For most of the paintings, darker colors were chosen for the wall paint, adding to the light and dark contrast of the paintings already created by Caravaggio’s signature style, chiaroscuro. The first painting you see when you walk through the massive doors to the gallery is “The Musicians”. Wow! Set against a deep blue wall, the peachy skin tones and the yellow of the lute in this painting really were bright. The faces popped, drawing you into their small space. What is going on here? Why is there an angel in the corner? Why is one of the subjects facing away from the viewer? Caravaggio was all about capturing moments in time. Here, the musicians and actors are rehearsing for their upcoming performance. Everything about this painting draws you in.

“Martha and Mary” were situated to the left of The Musicians, set against a burnt amber colored wall, allowing the blues and greens of the painting to really shine. This was easily the best set up we’ve seen, as compared to Chicago’s Art Institute, and its home base, at the Detroit Institute of Arts. “Martha and Mary” remains one of my favorite Caravaggios that I’ve seen to date, and seeing it displayed here with such care made it even more special. Do you believe that this is a painting of someone going through a massive spiritual conversion? I’m not totally convinced.

Along the back of the space, you could find the “Cardsharps”, our second look at this bright and interesting painting. The wall was painted a deep purplish burgundy, again allowing the bright yellows and grays in the painting to really pop. We noted additional details this time, including the backgammon board, the details in the clothing, and the tablecloth. Interestingly, one of the main characters in the painting has his back towards us – just like in “The Musicians”. We’re excited to check out a copy of this painting in London this summer to see if we can tell the difference between it and the autograph painting.

Finally we viewed “St. Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy,” another moment in time captured by the brilliant Caravaggio, immediately after St. Francis receives the gift of stigmata. He is gently held by a very large angel, and the audioguide pointed out a second miracle I may not have noticed – tiny flowers in the foreground blooming at night, which should only be blooming during the day. We also noticed other figures and a fire burning in the background, only visible on closer inspection. The composition was so interesting, it makes me want to read and learn more about St. Francis!

There were a few other paintings showcased by some of Caravaggio’s contemporaries, including one by Artemesia Gentileschi – a profoundly interesting female Italian baroque artist who painted in a similar style to Caravaggio, although definitely had her own spin on things. She may be our next scavenger hunt subject!

We didn’t spend too much time checking out the rest of this museum, though we did do a quick walk-through and enjoyed its many rooms filled with art and artifacts. Their shop was excellent, and had lots of Caravaggio merch, including a lovely book about this exact exhibit, which we obviously picked up. This exhibit is over April 14, so if you hurry, you can still check it out.