Caravaggio

Biography

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, simply known as Caravaggio, was born on September 29, 1571, in Milan, then part of the Duchy of Milan. He was an Italian painter and reformer of European painting in the 17th century, recognized as a prominent figure of Baroque realism and the Counter-Reformation movement. Caravaggio introduced an innovative style of painting known as chiaroscuro—sharp contrasts between light and shadow—as well as the technique of tenebrism, which had a significant impact on the development of painting during that period. Caravaggio worked without preparatory sketches, painting directly from live models onto the canvas. This approach explains why no preparatory drawings by the artist have ever been found. His oeuvre includes religious paintings, still lifes, and genre scenes. Among his well-known works are "The Supper at Emmaus," "Love Victorious," "Medusa," "Basket of Fruit," and "Judith Beheading Holofernes." He spent most of his creative life in Rome, where he enjoyed the patronage of influential church officials. During the last four years of his life, Caravaggio traveled between Naples, Malta, and Sicily. He died on July 18, 1610, in Porto Ercole.