Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Biography

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is believed to have been born in Milan in 1571. He left for Rome after a brief apprenticeship, and although Caravaggio had an inheritance that should have lasted for several years, he spent it quickly and lived these early years in poverty. He had a brief association with Cavalaire d’Arpino helping him produce some paintings and he then attracted the attention of Cardinal Del Monte, who was the cardinal-protector of the Academia di San Luca.

Caravaggio’s big break came with the help of the Cardinal, securing a commission of two large paintings for the Contarelli Chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi. After difficultly with painting on this scale in the beginning, the final outcome was an overwhelming success and further commissions followed.

Caravaggio was well known to the Roman Police. He ended up on the run after a fight resulted in the death of a man and spent years in Naples and then Malta still completing works.

Years later expecting a papal pardon, Caravaggio made his way on a boat trying to get to Rome when disaster struck. Mistakenly arrested and imprisoned for two days, upon his release his boat had gone along with his belongings. In a desperate attempt to find his boat, he walked the beach in the strong sunshine for hours which resulted in him getting the most terrible fever which killed him a few days later.

Now considered one of the most extraordinary characters in the history of art, Caravaggio had many disputes over his unconventional treatment of religious themes, and attempts to render the stories of the New Testament as realistic as possible. His use of light and dark always resulted in his figures being lit by a strong light which would cast dark shadows resulting in them emerging from their gloomy shadows in an incredible dramatic fashion.

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