Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio 1571 – 1610
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known just as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of his life, he moved between Naples, Malta, and Sicily until his death. He was known for his dramatic, theatrical lighting, use of everyday people as models, and controversial style.
His baroque painting technique mixes a realistic study of the physical and emotional states of people with dramatic lighting.
Caravaggio’s paintings were popular and was considered Rome’s most famous painter in the early 1600s. His life was brief and turbulent, characterized by his arrogance, rebellion, and murder which was matched by the drama of his art.
