Description
Caravaggio depicts the moment in which Christ restores Lazarus to life after four days in the tomb. Christ stands at the left and extends his arm towards the dead man's body, which is supported by several figures. Lazarus's rigid arm visually responds to Christ's gesture, establishing a powerful horizontal axis that concentrates the supernatural meaning of the scene. Martha, Mary and numerous witnesses surround the body and react differently to the miracle.
As in other Sicilian works, an extensive dark area dominates the upper part of the composition and confines the figures to a relatively narrow zone. Light passes irregularly through the group, revealing faces, hands and fragments of bodies before disappearing again into darkness. Lazarus's body, suspended between the rigidity of death and the return to life, forms the dramatic centre.
