Pieces of Existence on Canvas and Paper: About Encounters with Three Caravaggio’s Paintings and Other Educational Inspirations

Abstract

The article reflects on the essence of contemporary humanities in the educational dimension and emphasizes the importance of multidimensional dialogue based on four pillars: relationships, empathy, critical thinking and cultural context. Referring to Olga Tokarczuk’s category of a sensitive narrator, the author of the study postulates the need to educate a sensitive reader and viewer, as well as paying special attention to empathetic education. She presents the topos of homo viator as an anthropological category and in the context of three paintings by Caravaggio: Basket of Fruit, The Burial of Saint Lucy and The Raising of Lazarus, as well as a short story by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz titled The Maidens of Wilko considers various types of journeys that people experience in life, stressing in particular the existential dimension of the human life. The author emphasizes the value of knowing the biographical context in the process of interpreting the proposed cultural texts, as well as proposes specific methodological solutions for working with the discussed cultural texts.