Caravaggio was an Italian painter well known for his shocking works that presented an incredible play of shadows, light, and contrasts.

Using techniques such as tenebrism, Caravaggio is considered one of the first artists to think like a photographer.

Despite his troubled, rebellious and short life, the Italian artist managed to leave his mark on art history and his works still influence people today.

Reading Tip: Renaissance - The Human Being in the Focus of the Arts

Caravaggio's life

Michelangelo Merisi was born in 1571, most likely in Milan, not far from the village where his family came, Caravaggio. Years later, the artist would adopt the name of this place for himself.

Caravaggio's life was marked by events Turbulent. At the age of 6, his father, Fermo di Bernardino Merisi, died, along with his uncles, of bubonic plague. After that, Caravaggio and his brothers were raised by their aunts and mother, until she died in 1590.

The women who created it were very religious, but instead of also becoming a religious, Caravaggio created a great aversion to religion. Despite this, he portrayed many biblical pictures, as we will see later.

Career start

At the age of 12, Caravaggio was apprenticed to the painter Simone Peterzano. However, little is known what Caravaggio learned from the painter, since his future works had no influence from Peterzano, nor did his painting techniques.

With part of the legacy left by his mother, the artist left for Rome and there he met and lived with many Italian and international artists and architects. Rome was attracting the attention of these professionals because of projects for the reconstruction and beautification of the city.

Despite his mother's inheritance, Caravaggio went hungry and was even hospitalized because of the consequences of his misery. She even painted pictures as a means of support, but the payments she received were very low.

His life began to change when he was noticed by Cardinal del Monte, a sophisticated clergyman who loves the arts. Del Monte housed Caravaggio, provided lodging, food, and paid him to paint exclusive paintings for himself.

At that time, Caravaggio painted landscapes, still life and a few sacred paintings. But the market wasn't paying so well for that kind of work.

Italy in the second half of the 16th century was undergoing Counter-Reformation, and the country was watching Rise of churches and religious architecture. That was where the opportunities for money and fame were.

Caravaggio's fortunes changed in 1599 when he received a proposal to paint two major works for Contarelli Chapel. This was the beginning for the artist who, as soon as he began to receive several other commissions and, in a short time, had already accumulated a good reputation in Europe.

Temperamental artist

If, on the one hand, Caravaggio became famous for his technique, dramaticity, and shocking works, on the other hand, he was also known for having a more difficult temperament.

It was common to see him fighting, threatening, and disturbing people wherever he passed. Because of this, his visits to the police became more and more frequent, and even became Arrested a few times.

Despite this history of bluster, Caravaggio cannot be judged solely by his police stints. The artist had friendships with nobles, refined artists, and important people in society. There are even reports of being a very studious person, although he doesn't admit it.

Caravaggio's private life is, in parts, unknown. Therefore, it is not possible to truly know what his relations were like and how he lived.

Unfortunately, in one of those fights in which he got involved, Caravaggio ended up killing the prosecutor and mercenary Ranuccio Tommasoni. This situation guaranteed that his head was taken to the prize.

After the incident, Caravaggio Fled from Rome.

From Fugitive to Horseman

After the flight from Rome, Caravaggio passed through several cities outside papal jurisdiction. While living and moving, his Roman friends were trying to obtain the Pope's forgiveness so that the artist friend could return to the city.

In 1607, Caravaggio went to the Island of Malta and there he joined the Maltese knights.

During his stay on the island, he produced many paintings, some of which are considered very famous, such as “The Beheading of John the Baptist”.

His works guaranteed him the honor of Knight of the Order of Obedience, in addition to other decorations, gifts and slaves at your disposal.

Despite his fame and his works, the artist's temperament once again began to hinder his paths. Caravaggio even offended one of the knights of the order and was arrested, but with the help of friends he managed to escape to Sicily. At that moment, all her decorations were taken from her.

Now, he was not only a fugitive from Rome, but also from the Knights of Malta.

The curious thing is that, while fleeing justice, Caravaggio was a famous artist and earned a considerable amount of money for his works.

The lost forgiveness

Despite constantly moving in order to escape his persecutors, Caravaggio was eventually found and seriously injured.

The news of his state of health reached Rome, and his friends intensified their efforts to secure his forgiveness, allowing him to return to the city.

The efforts ended up bearing good fruit, and Pope Paul V was ready to grant him a pardon. Knowing this possibility, Caravaggio set off straight for Rome.

In 1610, it landed in Port Hercules, a few kilometers from Rome. However, luck was not on his side and he ended up being arrested by mistake. He was cloistered for two days and when he left, he saw that his boat and goods were missing.

In this situation, Caravaggio fell into despair and, after so much walking on the beach, ended up fainting, struck by a very strong fever.

Unfortunately, Caravaggio died a few days after being bedridden and was never able to return to Rome. The pardon was granted, but the artist couldn't live to see his name cleared.

For centuries, Caravaggio's death was a mystery. Even his body was lost for a long time and was found in 2010 after DNA analyses carried out by Italian university students.

In 2018, a study revealed the true cause of the artist's death. Caravaggio died of an infection caused by a bacteria called”Staphylococcus aureus”. He allegedly contracted it in a fight about a month before his death.

Reading Tip: Art Imitates Life - The Pop Art Effect

The art of Caravaggio

At the same time that Caravaggio's works were appreciated by many people, they also shocked many others.

In addition to the high realism he applied to his paintings, Caravaggio's work is marked by High drama, which can cause strong emotions in the public. Some people even refused to buy his works, and many others accused him of being profane, for portraying religious and mythological passages in a more intense way.

These characteristics of his art placed Caravaggio in a Opposite point to fellow artists of the time.

While it was common to portray perfection and angelic forms, Caravaggio sought something more palpable, rude and, often, worldly.

For him, there was no fear of depicting provocative scenes, deformities, ugliness, and other aspects that went against the grain of other artists of the time.

To do this, Caravaggio sought human models, such as merchants, waiters, prostitutes, and even thugs. He always looked for real people and portrayed them exactly as he saw them, without great idealizations. Simply human and of the world.

The lover of light and shade

Another striking feature in Caravaggio's works is the masterful use of light and shade.

This technique is called Chiaroburo and uses great contrasts of light and shadow to accentuate the depth in the paintings and paintings.

Already Tenebrism is seen as a radicalization of Chiaroscuro, using the issue of contrasts, light and shadow to the extreme.

Caravaggio was one of the artists who gave Force for Tenebrism, being the technique used in practically all of his works, especially at the height of his career.

With Tenebrism, Caravaggio showed more dramatically the facial expressions, movement, and details of the bodies of his models in his paintings.

The large areas in shadows were contrasting, focusing on areas of interest, according to the artist's intention and idea.

Without a doubt, if it weren't for Tenebrismo and Chiraroscuro, Caravaggio would not have been able to produce such striking and provocative works.

Caravaggio and the photograph

Caravaggio had a short journey as an artist, dying at the age of 38 and producing around 100 pieces.

Despite this, his influence was marked and his style based on Tenebrism and the play of light and shadow inspired other arts and artists to this day.

Some say that the artist is one of forerunners of photography, precisely because we think about framing, contrasts and the dominance of light and because we direct the public's eyes to areas of interest, just as contemporary photographers do.

Caravaggio was so concerned about light that, if he had been born in another era, he could have been a great photographer. Experts say that it is possible to reproduce today, with a photographic camera, the same shades and contrasts of light that Caravaggio used. This shows how the painter had an incredible technique and knew how to use lights well in his works.

In addition, there is research and studies that indicate that Caravaggio used dark cameras to help portray the models and objects I was painting.

The suggested idea is that Caravaggio transformed his studio into a large darkroom, using lenses and a light source. When light passed through the objects and the lens, it fell on a canvas, and it worked like a photograph through which the artist was guided.

The video below shows PhD Roberta Lapucci demonstrating what Caravaggio's darkroom would look like:

Reading Tip: History of Photography - Technologies, Arts, and War

Famous works

Caravaggio was a painter who innovated not only in the use of light and shadow, but also in the vision in which he portrayed the divine, religions, and the world.

Studying his work is an opportunity to delve into not only painting techniques, but also photography.