Major artists share spotlight at exhibitions

Crowning With Thorns by Caravaggio. CHINA DAILY

A rare treat

Despite his prominence, Caravaggio did not leave behind many paintings, and even fewer can be exhibited outside of Italy, according to Li Minkun, chairperson of Pudong museum.

The exhibition is the first time the legendary artist has been the central figure of an exhibition in China.

It has been curated by Francesco D'Arelli, director of the Italian Institute of Culture in Shanghai, and Francesca Cappelletti, director of the Borghese Gallery in Rome, which is renowned for its Caravaggio collection and for its sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).

"You can't imagine how hard we have worked to bring together a show containing six Caravaggios," D'Arelli said at the news conference, adding later that three paintings from the Borghese Gallery, including the Boy With A Basket of Fruit, will be on show in Shanghai.

The curators have also managed to borrow another three Caravaggios — one from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, another from a private collection, and the third, Crowning With Thorns, from the Banco Popolare di Vicenza collection in Prato.