Julia Musgrave

for The Tennant Lecture Series

on Caravaggio - Murderer or Genius

Wednesday 28 January 2026

Lecture in the EM Forster Theatre at 8pm

Drinks in the Theatre Foyer from 7.15pm

Caravaggio’s paintings inspired many artists during his lifetime and would go on to influence many more, from Rubens to Rembrandt. Each absorbed a different aspect of his work. His style spread across Europe and gave rise to the international movement known as ‘Caravaggism’. Yet for many, Caravaggio is famed as much for his criminal record as for his art. Was it the violence of his times or his own violent spirit that inspired the extraordinary lighting and intense naturalism of his work? This lecture follows the dramatic incidents of the artist’s life and looks at why his influence spread so far.

Julia Musgrave has a Graduate Diploma in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and gained her PhD at the University of York. She teaches Art History at the City Literary Institute and is an accredited Arts Society lecturer.

This event is fully accessible.