Interactive masterpiece

This is Michelangelo Merisi De Caravaggio's Denial of St Peter located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on an oil canvas.

This painting was crated during the early stages of the 17th century in the Baroque period (in Rome Italy). Baroque art is typically characterized by its usage of emotion, lighting, and movement. Caravaggio was an important figure in the Baroque movement most known for his use of chiaroscuro, the use of 3d figures to portray the light that will help the viewer see how light is symbolically present.

Baroque art served to evoke emotional responses, particularly in regards to religious atmospheres. This period was marked by the Catholic Church's Counter-Reformation. This scene is a Christian narrative about Peter's denial of knowing Christ. It shows the moment in the bible where Peter refuses to acknowledge his relationship with Jesus three times after his arrest, despite the bystanders who attested to their relationship. In this scene, a soldier and woman are confronting Peter as he points at himself and denies his connection to Jesus.

The portrayal of hands is a major element in this composition as it highlights the act of denial through pointing gestures. Peter's denial (and this piece) is a very well known subject in Renaissance and Baroque art as it portrays moments of weakness and repentence.

The figures depicted in this painting are highly naturalistic which was a common style adopted by Caravaggio. This cropped composition and vivid-close up allows the viewer to visualize the effects of sound that can be presumed to be taking place during this interaction.

"Carvaggio explored ways to expand the auditory dimension of painting through the depiction of figures speaking with mouths open" and "vocalizing an unprecedented variety of human sounds" (105). Carvaggio's objective was to persuade the viewer to "imagine what is heard as well as what is seen... to use sound to increase the startling immediacy and urgency of his imagery." We see this technique employed in this painting as the primary focus is to portray an intense dialogue between three advocates, shown by their open mouths.

Caravaggio used the technique of the open mouth to depict "a human sound expressing a particular emotion or physical state, such as sorrow, fury, or pain" (113). In this example, we see each protagonist with an open mouth expressing a different sort of emotion. We can assume that woman is looking to the soldier for validation in her accusation of Peter with both her hands pointing at Peter.

Carvaggio employed this use of the open mouth to describe "the variety of ordinary human reaction... stirring viewers to recall their own memories of grieving" (113). As a viewer, this painting may evoke feelings of losing a loved one to incarceration, feelings of guilt or shame, or disbelief. Without any explicit text, the facial expressions that accompany dialogue can portray the type of conversation taking place to "describe the emotions of the pointing soldier and other figures in the scene" (116).

The author remarks that "the human sounds of sorrow, pain, and terror are the most striking and novel auditory phenomena in Caravvagio's art." We see exactly this in his portrayal of Peter who's face is undeniably frightened by the accusations of his affiliation with Christ.

For the viewer, "the movements of the painted figures' mouths prompted them to hear the sounds in their minds, converting one sensory mode into another" (118). This is how we are able to transcribe the painting into an object that tells a story that explicitly demonstrates the intense dialogue taking place, evoking memories in the viewer of the type of tone and emotion used in such conversations.

Caravvagio used other elements such as hand gestures (pointing figures), facial expressions, and the use of light to highlight the intensity of the scene. The light on Peter's face could be seen as a sort of "spotlight" to emphasize his guilt and inner turmoil. All eyes are on Peter as he struggles to get himself out of a situation he put himself in. If you look closely, you can see that Peter is beginning to tear up, which allows the viewer to make references of guilt and regret to his/her own life.

In Judith Zilczer's Color Music, the author remarks that "music, in its direct appeal to emotions and senses, transcended language... so should the visual arts attain universality by evoking sensual pleasure or an emotional response in the viewer (101). We can apply this to Caravaggio's use of chiaroscuro as it portrays the heightened emotional intensity of the dialogue and creates a sensory response from the viewer (sort of how music transcends language to evoke emotion.)

Zilczer's narration mentions a quote by Picabia that states "we understand without any difficulty the meaning and logic of a piece of music because this work is based on laws of harmony and composition" (103). Caravvagio's composition- how the figures point and where they are pointing, the intentional use of light, and placement of the protagonists, could be seen as adhering to a visual harmony that allows the viewer to develop their own sensory response based on the elements that work together to create emotional reverberance.

Two types of sound: Organized and disorganized sound. Organized sound represents something purposeful. In this instance, the purpose of sound is to reprimand Peter for his actions. However, if Peter was responding with 'shrieks' or 'screams' this would be a representation of disorganized sound.

The ways the bodies are responding to each other (their hand gestures) makes sense of the sound taking place in this image.