In the foreground of Caravaggio’s painting, “The Musicians” there is a violin and some extra sheet music awaiting perhaps another performer or inviting the viewer to enter and be part of this gathering. As a realist painter I’m also wanting to take up the invitation and wander through this sensual world he has created. A world where music, love and beauty are the food of life.

While Caravaggio used classical themes, he imbued with them with realism by having friends and ordinary people pose for him. His intimate scenes pulse with dramatic lighting created by high contrasts between dark and light called “chiaroscuro”.

This travelling between light and dark could also describe Caravaggio’s own life and his volatile and brutal personality that at the same time was able to create these moments of beauty and understanding of humanity. He was a man who became a murderer, sentenced to death in absentia and an artist that gave us a spiritual transcendence of the human experience. It’s no wonder that he continues to intrigue us with these contradictory values of good and evil.

My background shading goes from pure black at the bottom to pure white at the top and yellow ochre mixed through to create the depth. In front of this is the table set with a white cloth ready to stage the actors. These actors will take their cues from Caravaggio’s musicians. One of whom is Caravaggio himself.

The white cloth reflects the folds of the musicians’ robes. The peeled apple speaks to the cupid plucking gapes and the sense of temptation pervading the scene. The black film noir mobile phone with a dial that reads “In case of Emergency” seems particularly pertinent, as a sword fight could easily emerge out of the dark shadows above. The winged owl may be a call for wisdom as the metronome ticks away marking time that Caravaggio has so little of. He gave us so much in his sort 38 years.

It’s no accident that music featured in Caravaggio’s paintings as his career directly overlaps the birth of opera in late 16th century Italy. And just as Caravaggio utilised images and themes from the past I too have included a piece of Italian music” Sopra un’aria antica by Ottorino Respighi which translates to “On an ancient air” or “Based on an old aria” and is a reimagining of a 17th century baroque melody into a modern 20th century style. It is this acknowledgement of the past and how we can bring it into our own times with a contemporary twist and even a playfulness that fascinates me.

Creating a painting within a painting allows those connections to the past be revisited and explored. By following the hand of a master I hope to not only become a better painter but also take the time to explore the journey of painting itself and be immersed in another world where I can wonder just how much has really changed over the centuries.