Biography
Michelangelo Caravaggio (1571 - 1610)
Michelangeo Merisi da Caravaggio was born in Italy on September 29th, 1571. He was an active painter in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1590 and 1610. He is well known for his use of strong contrasts between light and dark subjects, a technique known formally as chiaroscuro. His late life was a whirwind of late night brawls, drunken nights in jail, and vandalism. In 1606, the Pope pronounced a death sentence against Caravaggio for allegedly killing a young man. To avoid this punishment, Caravaggio fled from Rome, but was not able to avoid punishment. He was severely injured in 1609 after an alledged attack on his life. In 1610, Caravaggio died under mysterious circumstances in Tuscany, reportedly from a fever while travelling to Rome to receive a pardon from the Pope.
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Leoni, O. (1621). Portrait of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Florence: Biblioteca Marucelliana.