These images do not belong to me, they can be found on their respective wikipedia page.

There is a change coming; and some people may even notice the resemblance between the revisions taking place in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. This change is not so distant from most of us, as we have seen the exhibit that is being replaced. It is not that long ago that all of us traveled to the Met to see the artwork of the Dutch Master Frans Hals. An earlier Italian artist, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, with eerily similar art pieces, will soon replace the Hals exhibit.

Which we thought was so unique to Hals, his focus on the everyday mundane life, may not have been so idiosyncratic.  Caravaggio is actually a predecessor to Hals. Even though they have never met or have been in the same country at the same time, there should be some level of influence traced back to Caravaggio. This influence can be rooted to one of Carravagio’s followers and imitators, Gerrit van Honthorst, who actually traveled through the Netherlands, spreading the mastery of his teacher.

The similarities between the two masters can be easily found in Hal’s ‘Boy With a Lute’ and Caravaggio’s ‘Boy Bitten by a Lizard’. Both frames capture a moment in time, where all the action seems to have stood still. Just by looking at the two paintings one can notice even a similarity in the positioning of the boys in the two paintings. Sometimes by just staring at the paintings one can notice similarities without ever pinpointing the exact likeness. The biggest difference that I could see between the two paintings is the way the paint was actually used. When looking at Hals’s piece, there is a much more exaggerated and uneven use of the paint, where as Caravaggio’s paintings have a much more even and smooth look to them.

The Metropolitan Museum of Arts is giving us an interesting opportunity. In the same place where most of us were introduced to the works of Hals, we can go and see in the same exact spot, the works of Caravaggio. Maybe the Met had the thought of arranging it like so; so that the museumgoers can compare and contrast the works of two masters that never met. If anyone would like to point out more similarities and difference please comment below.

The full article on this idea can be read here.