Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Born Michelangelo Merisi, Caravaggio is the name of his home town in northern Italy. In 1595 Cardinal Francesco Del Monte took Caravaggio into his household, and through him and his acquaintances Caravaggio received his first commissions. Characterised by their dramatic, theatrical lighting Caravaggio’s paintings were controversial, popular and influential. Caravaggio was a fast, spontaneous worker but he also had a violent and unpredictable temper. One of his biographers described how 'after a fortnight's work he will swagger about for a month or two with his sword at his side and with a servant following him, from one ball-court to the next, ever ready to engage in a fight or argument, with the result that it is most awkward to get along with him' Carrying a sword was illegal and Caravaggio was arrested repeatedly for abusive behaviour. At one point, during an argument which has been conjectured to be over either a woman or a tennis match, Caravaggio stabbed his opponent after which the man died of his wounds. Because of this Caravaggio was forced to leave Rome to escape punishment.

Caravaggio’s technique was spontaneous, painting straight onto canvas with minimal preparation, sometimes repainting on top of a disappointing composition. He used ordinary working people in his paintings with irregular features and rough characteristics, much to the shock of art critics at the time. In many of his paintings he made them appear to be an extension of the room, involving the viewers in the painting.

After Leaving Rome Caravaggio moved to Naples and then the Island of Malta, his social standing was high but he got into trouble again when he quarrelled with a Knight. After escaping from prison he travelled around Sicily and then, on returning to Naples he was involved in another brawl that left him disfigured. He loaded all his belongings onto a ship but was arrested before he could board himself and the boat and all his possessions set sail without him. Soon after he fell ill and died a few days later.