Sara: Study for the Final

       Michaelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, born in 1571, was a realistic painter who greatly influenced the Baroque art movement. He was well known for his use of chiaroscuro (high contrasts of light and dark in his paintings). He was also known to place his self-portrait in his pieces often.
       This particular painting by Caravaggio was painted around 1600 and is titled "Sacrifice of Isaac". The painting depicts a scene from the bible in which Abraham, about to obey god's command to sacrifice his son Isaac, is interrupted by an angel who offers a ram in place of the young man (who is a portrait of the artist).
        The reason why I chose this piece is funny, but kind of sad, in a way. The year I decided to leave home and transfer to University of the Arts, my mother and I weren't getting along at all. She was going through a tough time and with a mid-life crisis-like move, while simultaneously trying to start her own business, bought a dog that she couldn't afford and barely had the time for. I wanted a dog my entire life and she bought one a month before I moved to Philadelphia. I was definitely replaced by a dog. The dog ended up destroying the carpets and endless amounts of furniture in the house in which she's trying to sell (I never would have peed on the carpets). Anyway, we constantly butt heads over this issue and it really affected our relationship. I think the psychological tension of Caravaggio's painting, which is shown through the dramatic lighting and the gestures of the figures, fits in with the tension of my situation. In my drawing I want to keep the same composition and lighting, but change the identities of the figures and the setting in which the figures exist in. I'm not sure what medium I will use yet, but I'm considering pastel.