Abstraction in art is neither an escape from reality nor an aesthetic whim. I am convinced that it represents one of the major adventures of modernity. Refusing to depict the visible does not mean refusing reality. Abstraction simply proposes to explore another layer of the real, in which rhythms, structures, and invisible forces organize the world.

With Artemisia Gentileschi, we reach the final chapter of our Caravaggesque trilogy. After Caravaggio, the founder, and Ribera, the contemplative, here comes a more vibrant, more colorful figure—yet just as radical. Artemisia is Caravaggio’s light filtered through a woman’s experience, violence transfigured into narrative power, historical painting inhabited by a singular voice.

Nicknamed Lo Spagnoletto — “the little Spaniard” — is one of the true heavyweights of European Baroque. As the second great Caravaggesque master in our trilogy, he left a brutal, unforgettable mark on Neapolitan painting. A bold champion of raw tenebrism, Ribera stood out as one of Caravaggio’s fiercest heirs, while forging his own intense visual language — a mix of visceral drama, anatomical precision, and spiritual impact that hits you right in the gut.