The Beheading is a work that originates from a journey from Northern Italy to Sicily, retracing the trajectory of Merisi's life from the Lombard city of Caravaggio through Milan, Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily. It was in Malta that Caravaggio sought refuge, protection - and probably papal forgiveness - from the Order of the Knights of St. John, following his involvement in the murder of Ranuccio Tomassoni in Rome. During this trip, a small Ape Piaggio Pentarò from 1967 made it possible to trace and procure the raw materials from which all the pigments used in Caravaggio's painting (identified during the restoration process) were extracted: lead carbonate (white lead), coal (lampblack), malachite, azurite, green earth, cinnabar (vermilion), umber, red earth (sienna), ocher and madder root (carmine). Where possible, these raw materials were found directly in the territories of origin, including Roussillon and Althen-des-Paluds in France, Monte Baldo, Borgo Pace, and Monte Amiata in Italy. The "exotics" (malachite and azurite) were purchased in the historic place of supply of these pigments, Venice. At the end of the journey, in an act that we could define as vehicular take-off - the "body" (trailer) of the Pentarò has been detached from its "head" (engine) and is exposed with its multicolored load of materials on a base with the same size as the original painting.

Author: Simon Starling

Title: Simon Starling, La Decollazione

Publisher: Galleria Franco Noero

Year: 2018

Language: English, Italian

Specifications: brochure