K1

Many months after the planning began, work on our new kitchen began today.  Within 8 hours, they have stripped-out all the cupboards, appliances etc and demolished a partition wall. Fortunately the kitchen can be sealed-off from the rest of the house by a solid door, keeping dust, noise, etc at bay.  I helped-out to the best of my ability - by keeping well out of the way.

They did find a number of items which had, over the years, fallen out of drawers. The most precious antique was a packet of Quavers, with the best-before date of 28 April 2007.  

No, we didn't.

In 1595 Caravaggio found a patron: a Roman Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte. He aspired to be a leading thinker in the arts and sciences.  Under his roof, Caravaggio pressed ahead with his painting of vibrant, lifelike, dramatic images. He used a mirror to learn to paint facial expressions of, for example, horror, pity, adoration, shock, fear and sorrow. Never mild and bland: always attempting to provoke.

A great early example was The Head of Medusa (1597). An earlier shield painting of the severed head of Medusa, by Leonardo da Vinci for the Medici family, had been lost, prompting del Monte to commission Caravaggio to replace it. He did so with gusto and some optical tricks. Although he was painting on a circular, convex wooden shield, the shading inside the rim makes it seem concave. The expression of the beheaded Medusa is one of horror, puzzlement and outrage. 

Caravaggio was a regular attender at the numerous public executions in Rome at the time. The appearance of the severed head with the blood dribbling from the neck would have been faithfully captured.