The Taking of Christ
by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 1602


 
Once provenance is proved within the pale
through pentimenti yet beyond my ken,
the work, restored, becomes itself again,
a masterpiece of figures, each a male.

Anachronistic soldiers seize the Lord,
just kissed by Judas toward the left, with John
about to leave and Peter looking on
while holding up a lantern, not a sword.

The source of light, however, seems to be
outside of what exists in paint: the moon
which rose and shone, the timing opportune,
above the scene set in Gethsemane.


Who dares deny that Caravaggio
allowed himself a shameless cameo?

Jane Blanchard

If you have any thoughts about this poem,  Jane Blanchard   would be pleased to hear them