Caravaggio’s Light: How Ground and Palette Built the Effect

This session draws on the conservation literature on specific paintings — what has been identified by XRF, cross-section, and pigment analysis — to reconstruct what Caravaggio actually used and how those materials behave within the layered structure his work depends on. We will examine the role of bole grounds, the limited earth-and-black tonal foundation, the handling of lead white in the lights, and the specific reds and lakes used in the warm passages. The objective is not imitation of style. It is understanding why a constrained palette of well-chosen materials produces results that have survived four hundred years.