color, in caravaggio's work, is very important. and color is achieved--you have a very natural representation. in other words, the artist is introducing real colors, actual colors, colors of the object. it is used naturally. and he is introducing nature in his representation of these figures, natural flesh tones, for example, and actual color of the drapery. now, if we go back to the vermeer's work, we see that in the vermeer's girl, color is complemented through use of light. they are integrally interwoven. they work together to create a very distinct impression. light bounces off. notice the metal, the shapes, the wonderful reflections in the translucent pearls. and all of these create the wonderful feeling of-- they're achieved through color, but light is a very important element and a very important part. but color is used naturally. he's observing light. there is a window that's implied. it's directly behind the girl-- or in front of her, and it's casting a shadow. and it is illuminating the young lady. now, color can be used,

color, in caravaggio's work, is very important. and color is achieved--you have a very natural representation. in other words, the artist is introducing real colors, actual colors, colors of the object. it is used naturally. and he is introducing nature in his representation of these figures, natural flesh tones, for example, and actual color of the drapery. now, if we go back to the vermeer's work, we see that in the vermeer's girl, color is complemented through use of light. they are integrally interwoven. they work together to create a very distinct impression. light bounces off. notice the metal, the shapes, the wonderful reflections in the translucent pearls. and all of these create the wonderful feeling of-- they're achieved through color, but light is a very important element and a very important part. but color is used naturally. he's observing light. there is a window that's implied. it's directly behind the girl-- or in front of her, and it's casting a shadow. and it is illuminating the young lady. now, color can be used,

, and through caravaggio, rembrandt.two other paintings of this period have come down to us-- the portrait of cecilia gallerani, the mistress of the duke, and the portrait of a musician. the painting of cecilia gallerani is known as the lady with the ermine. the ermine was one of il moro's symbols, so that the portrait becomes a representation of the love of the duke for this woman who was so close to him before his marriage to beatrice d'este. the animal she holds, so lithe and feminine a creature, could almost rival her own delicate beauty and the splendid hand that caresses the creature. the portrait of the musician was painted soon afterwards. the figure is not finished, but the beautiful head, and in particular the eyes, hold one's attention as one looks at the picture. it's almost as if one had picked out a stranger with a glance, as we've all done sometimes, and found it difficult to cut off the silent communication that only the eyes convey. "music is the shape and form of the invisible," leonardo said. he was a

one of italy's most prestigious institutions on par with the coliseum or any caravaggio paint can.t should be proceeded and/ our constitution guarantees that. >> the financial crisis is forcing the government to/funding for the arts. the government has to save billions of dollars in the next few years. theaters and opera houses mostly state funded. some have had no choice but to cut prvenlingsz or in some cases, close down. this is one of rome's oldest theaters poured in 1727. the last official performance here was in 2011. campaigners are trying to raise enough money to keep this place open. italian government spends more than a billion dollars a year on culture. much of the money goes to restoring ancient sites like the coliseum. the minister of culture insists opera will survive. >> the this tradition can survive. to respect the profession of these people. i think it would be difficult to imagine the future where culture isn't at the heart of things. >> in rommes opera house, a performance of swan lake. when music went on strike, the orchestra was replaced with a cd track. for n