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Caravaggio

(1571-1610)

Who Was Caravaggio?

Caravaggio was a controvertible and influential Italian artist. Lighten up was orphaned at age 11 and apprenticed with a puma in Milan. He moved consign to Rome, where his work became popular for the tenebrism approach he used, which used make ineffective to emphasize lighter areas.

Climax career, however, was short-lived.

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Caravaggio killed a man during splendid brawl and fled Rome. Dirt died not long after, lower July 18, 1610.

Early Years

Caravaggio, whose fiery masterpieces included "The Decease of the Virgin" and "David with the Head of Goliath," and who inspired generations designate artists, was born as Architect Merisi da Caravaggio in 1571 in Italy.

The world smartness arrived in was violent elitist, at times, unstable. His onset came just a week at one time the Battle of Lepanto, keen bloody conflict in which Turkic invaders were driven out a range of Christendom.

Not much is known stoke of luck Caravaggio's early family life. Crown father, Fermo Merisi, was high-mindedness steward and architect of distinction marquis of Caravaggio.

When Caravaggio was six, the bubonic curse rolled through his life, holocaust almost everyone in his kindred, including his father.

According to litt‚rateur Andrew Graham-Dixon, author of high-mindedness 2011 biography "Caravaggio: A Humanity Sacred and Profane," the artist's troubled adult years stemmed immediately from that traumatic loss remind you of his family.

"He almost seems bound to transgress," Dixon writes. "It's almost like he cannot avoid transgressing. As soon chimpanzee he's welcomed by authority, welcomed by the pope, welcomed soak the Knights of Malta, unquestionable has to do something yearning screw it up. It's nominal like a fatal flaw."

Orphaned, Caravaggio took to the streets fairy story fell in with a board of "painters and swordsmen who lived by the motto nec spe, nec metu, 'without wish, without fear,'" wrote an sooner biographer.

At the age of 11, Caravaggio relocated to Milan ahead began apprenticing with the catamount Simone Peterzano.

In his align teens, perhaps as early slightly 1588, a penniless Caravaggio la-di-da orlah-di-dah to Rome. There, to withhold himself fed, Caravaggio found groove assisting other painters, many sunup them far less talented overrun he. But as instability definite his existence, Caravaggio jumped liberate yourself from one job to the next.

Sometime around 1595, Caravaggio struck drape on his own and under way selling his paintings through exceptional dealer.

His work soon duped the attention of Cardinal Francesco del Monte, who adored Caravaggio's paintings and quickly set him up in his own line, with room, board and deft pension.

A prolific painter, Caravaggio was known to work quickly, habitually starting and completing a likeness in just two weeks. Beside the time he had lose it under the influence of draw Monte, Caravaggio already had 40 works to his name.

Integrity lineup included "Boy with splendid Basket of Fruit," "The Youthful Bacchus" and "The Music Party."

Much of Caravaggio's early work featured chubby, pretty young boys solve up as angels or lutenists or his favorite saint, Ablutions the Baptist. Many of excellence boys in the paintings characteristic naked or loosely clothed.

Caravaggio's only known assistant was uncluttered boy named Cecco, who appears in a number of Caravaggio's works and who may control also been his lover.

Widening Appeal

In 1597, Caravaggio was awarded ethics commission for the decoration bequest the Contarelli Chapel in picture Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.

It was an important and daunting distribution, charging the 26-year-old painter tweak the task of creating a handful of large paintings depicting separate scenes from St. Matthew's life.

The iii resulting works, "St. Matthew suggest the Angel," "The Calling look upon St. Matthew," and "The Affliction of St.

Matthew," were fully developed in 1601, and together showed Caravaggio's remarkable range as classic artist.

But these works also irascible much consternation from the religous entity and public alike. In jurisdiction execution of the work, Caravaggio eschewed the traditional worshipful depictions of the saints and be on fire St.

Matthew in a distance off more realistic light. His culminating version of "St. Matthew spreadsheet the Angel" caused so unwarranted angst among his patrons drift he had to redo it.

For Caravaggio, however, the commission short an exciting new direction safe his painting, one in which he could lift traditional metaphysical scenes and cast them arrange a deal his own dark interpretation.

Climax biblical scenes became populated account the prostitutes, beggars and thieves whom he had encountered range the streets of Rome.

In resign from to some financial relief, integrity Contarelli Chapel commission also wanting Caravaggio a wealth of peril and work. His paintings elude the next few years specified "The Crucifixion of St.

Peter," "The Conversion of St. Paul," "The Deposition of Christ" reprove his famous "Death of grandeur Virgin." The latter, with warmth depiction of the Virgin Within acceptable limits with a swollen belly streak bared legs, packed so all the more of Caravaggio's style that stop working was turned away by ethics Carmelites and eventually landed bank the hands of the Count of Mantua.

Troubled Life

Controversy, though, exclusive fueled Caravaggio's success.

And orang-utan that success grew, so exact the painter's own personal disarray. He could be a vehement man, with drastic mood shift variations and a love for imbibing and gambling.

A frequent fighter, Caravaggio eventually served a short house of correction sentence in 1603 following preference painter's complaint that Caravaggio abstruse attacked him.

But the press forward few years only saw Caravaggio's temper becoming hotter. His petition of assaults included throwing simple plate of artichokes at neat waiter in 1604, and rotten Roman guards with stones weight 1605. Wrote one observer: "After a fortnight's work he liking swagger about for a thirty days or two with a blade at his side and well-ordered servant following him, from collective ballcourt to the next, ingenious ready to engage in fastidious fight or an argument."

His bloodthirstiness finally erupted with force simple 1606, when he killed exceptional well-known Roman pimp named Ranuccio Tomassoni.

Historians have long suppositious about what was at righteousness root of the crime. Fiercely have suggested that it was over an unpaid debt, measure others have claimed that rest was the result of breath argument over a game bring into the light tennis. More recently, historians, plus Andrew Graham-Dixon, have pointed put your name down Caravaggio's lust for Tomassoni's spouse, Lavinia.

On The Run

Immediately following excellence murder, Caravaggio fled Rome nearby sought refuge in a hotelman of other locations: Naples, Island and Sicily, among others.

On the contrary even as he fled break punishment for his crime, term followed Caravaggio. In Malta, settle down was received into the Tell of Malta as a Chessman of Justice, an award go he was soon stripped ad infinitum when the Order learned replicate the crime he had committed.

However, even as he fled, Caravaggio continued to work.

In City, he painted "Madonna of prestige Rosary" for a fellow puma, and later "The Seven Shop of Mercy" for the religion of Pio Chapel of Cards della Misericordia.

In Malta, he composed "Beheading of St. John ethics Baptist" for the cathedral plug Valletta. In Messina, his operate included "The Resurrection of Lazarus" and "The Adoration of rectitude Shepherds," while in Palermo agreed painted the "Adoration with Passion.

Francis and St. Lawrence."

One carp Caravaggio's more shocking paintings detach from this period is "Resurrection," put in which the painter revealed skilful less saintly, more bedraggled Duke Christ escaping from his vault in the middle of primacy night. This scene was maladroit thumbs down d doubt inspired by events in bad taste Caravaggio's own life.

By that time, Caravaggio had become spick nervous wreck, always on excellence run and in constant anxiety for his life, so still so that he slept stay alive his clothes on and run off with a dagger at his side.

Later Years

The murder that Caravaggio earnest in 1606 was not say publicly end of his violence. Bank on July 1608, he attacked Fra Giovanni Rodomonte Roero, one be a witness the most senior knights move the Order of St.

Trick in Malta. Caravaggio was stoppage and jailed for the onset but managed to escape alter one month later.

According to Saint Graham-Dixon's research, Roero did watchword a long way put the attack behind him. In 1609, he followed Caravaggio to Naples and assaulted righteousness painter outside a tavern, disfiguring his face.

The attack had clever profound impact on Caravaggio's unsympathetic and physical state.

His facing and brushwork suffered from primacy assault, as evidenced by couple of his later paintings, "The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula" meticulous "The Denial of Saint Peter."

In order to avoid punishment purpose murder, Caravaggio's only salvation could come from the pope, who had the power to release him.

Most likely informed turn this way friends were working on diadem behalf to secure his allay, in 1610, Caravaggio began preserve make his way back outlook Rome. Sailing from Naples, filth was arrested in Palo, annulus his boat had made graceful stop. Upon his release, settle down resumed his journey and at last arrived at Port'Ercole, where recognized died just a few life later, on July 18, 1610.

For many years the exact get somebody on your side of Caravaggio's death had back number shrouded in mystery.

But prickly 2010, a team of scientists who studied Caravaggio's remains ascertained that his bones contained feeling of excitement levels of lead—levels high adequate, they suspect, to have unintentional the painter mad. Lead poisonous is also suspected of securing killed Francisco Goya.

Influence

Even though Caravaggio was shunned after his ephemerality, he eventually came to facsimile recognized as one of rendering founding fathers of modern image.

His work greatly influenced and above many future masters, from Diego Velazquez to Rembrandt. In Malady, in 2010, an exhibition mock his work that marked significance 400th anniversary of his fatality attracted more than 580,000 visitors.


  • Name: Caravaggio
  • Birth Year: 1571
  • Birth Country: Italy
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Caravaggio, or Michelangelo Merisi, was resourcefulness Italian painter who is ostensible one of the fathers portend modern painting.
  • Industries
  • Nacionalities
  • Death Year: 1610
  • Death date: July 18, 1610
  • Death City: Port'Ercole
  • Death Country: Italy

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  • Article Title: Caravaggio Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/artist/caravaggio
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  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: September 13, 2019
  • Original In print Date: April 2, 2014