Born in 1571 in Milan, Italy When he was just 6 years old all the men in his family died because of the plague When he was 13 he lost his mother as well
Caravaggio was famous for his adventurous, wild, ill-tempered personality and life style The year his mother died he started to apprentice under the artist Simone Peterzano When he was in his early 20’s Caravaggio moved to Rome Italy to escape “certain quarrels” and trouble with the law, he had hurt a police officer
When he got to Rome he had nothing. He was broke, homeless, and hungry. He eventually found work in a workshop. While living in Rome Caravaggio grew in fame as an artist, however, he also became notorious for brawling. He had several pages of police records on him
So far Caravaggio had gotten away with his antics because he was supported by powerful, wealthy people in town, the people he painted for However, in 1606 Caravaggio’s chaotic life style caught up to him when he killed a man (possibly on accident) over a tennis game
In serious trouble he ran to Naples where he lived and worked for a few months before moving again to Malta While in Malta he hoped to win over the affections of the officials and get a pardon for the murder he committed At first this worked, but then he was arrested and imprisoned for fighting and injuring an official
Some how he managed to escape from prison, climb down a cliff into the ocean, and swim some 3 miles before being picked up by a boat
After getting out of prison he made his way to Sicily But after only 9 months there he was being chased by enemies and fled back to Naples While in Naples someone tried to kill him but ended up only seriously maiming his face
At this point there was a death warrant out for Caravaggio, the officials wanted his head In an attempt to get a pardon for all his illicit behavior Caravaggio sent paintings to several high ranking officials
On his way back to Rome, supposedly to pick up the pardon, Caravaggio died. The year was 1610, he was just 38 years old How he died is still a mystery. Most likely it was from a fever, however some people believe he was murdered by one of his many enemies, and some believed he had lead poisoning
Somehow, despite his life style, Caravaggio managed to make a great deal of paintings. Caravaggio influenced a huge range of artists, he influenced the culture he was living in, and he changed the course of western art It is said that “modern painting” begins with Caravaggio. His art started several movements after his death and influenced several very famous artists
It is said that Caravaggio changed the course of art history. But why? How? One important influence Caravaggio had was his use of chiaroscuro. He made this shading technique famous. Chiaroscuro is: Italian term that literally means “Light dark”. A style of artwork where contrast is emphasized.
His use of chiaroscuro created paintings that look very dramatic and intense.
Another important influence Caravaggio had was using common people, or peasants as his models for painting images of religious figures. In the time this was unique but controversial because all religious figures were painted as looking inhuman, or grander than human.