Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, is an Italian painter born on 29 September 1571 in Milan and died on 18 July 1610 in Porto Ercole.His powerful and innovative work revolutionized the paintings of the seventeenth century by his naturalistic character, his sometimes brutal realism, and the strong use of the technique of chiaroscuro, which went as far as darkness.
He knew fame during his lifetime and influenced many great painters after him, as evidenced by the appearance of caravaggism.In fact, he achieved great success in the early 1600: working in an environment of cultivated protectors, he obtained prestigious commissions and collectors of very high rank sought his paintings. But then Caravaggio entered a difficult period.
In 1606, after numerous disputes with the justice of the Papal States, he mortally wounded an opponent in a duel. He then left Rome and spent the rest of his life in exile, in Naples, Malta and Sicily. Until 1610, the year of his death at the age of 38, his paintings are partly intended to redeem this fault.
After a long period of critical oversight, it was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that the genius of Caravaggio was fully recognized, regardless of his sulphurous reputation. Its popular success gives rise to a multitude of novels and films, alongside exhibitions and countless scientific publications which, for a century, completely renew the image.
He is currently represented in the world's largest museums, despite the limited number of paintings that have survived. However, some paintings that have been discovered for a century still raise questions of attribution.
Some of his paintings
The Calling of St Matthew 1599–1600
Basket of Fruit 1599
Judith Beheading Holofernes 1598–1599
Cardsharps 1594
Medusa 1597
