Crime and Punishment / The Magnificent Age: Art, Life and Baroque

When Martin Luther published his 95 theses in 1517, it was not only a challenge to the perceived corruption of the Catholic Church, it was an act which prompted the transformation of the religious, socio-political, and artistic landscape of Europe. One of the most dynamic styles to emerge in the wake of the Counter-Reformation, the Baroque lasted a century and manifested differently in Italy, Spain, and France, where it produced the most extraordinary artists and architects including Caravaggio, Bernini, Velasquez, Poussin, and Borromini.

Not all trials were performed with the composure of Poussin’s ‘Judgement of Solomon.’ Discover the violence of the Baroque era and how it was reflected in both its artworks and in daily life through the various crimes of Caravaggio and his cronies, the rape and subsequent trial of Artemesia Gentileschi, and the role of the Spanish Inquisition and papal sbirri.