Italian · Baroque · Caravaggism

Caravaggio

b. 29 September 1571, Milan — d. 18 July 1610, Porto Ercole

Caravaggio (1571–1610) was the Italian painter who transformed Baroque art with raw realism and dramatic chiaroscuro, painting saints and myths from ordinary models in a violent, short life.

14 works in the collection

Works by Caravaggio

A startled youth with a rose behind his ear jerks his hand back as a lizard bites his finger beside a glass vase with a pink rose — Caravaggio, Boy Bitten by a Lizard, c. 1594–95 — Boy Bitten by a Lizard
Caravaggio · c. 1594–95

A youth crowned with grape leaves reclines in a white robe, holding out a glass of red wine beside a bowl of ripe and rotting fruit — Caravaggio, Bacchus, c. 1596–98 — Bacchus
Caravaggio · c. 1596–98

A young man in a brocade doublet kneels and leans over a dark pool, gazing at his upside-down reflection — Caravaggio, Narcissus, c. 1597–99 — Narcissus
Caravaggio · c. 1597–99

A young woman in a white blouse draws a sword through the neck of a screaming man on a bed while an old maid waits with a cloth, under a red curtain — Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holofernes, c. 1598–1599 — Judith Beheading Holofernes
Caravaggio · c. 1598–1599

Men in feathered caps sit counting coins at a table as Christ, half hidden behind Saint Peter, points toward them beneath a beam of light — Caravaggio, The Calling of Saint Matthew, 1599–1600 — The Calling of Saint Matthew
Caravaggio · 1599–1600

A young beardless Christ blesses food at a table as one disciple grips his chair and another flings out his arms, with a fruit basket at the table's edge — Caravaggio, Supper at Emmaus, 1601 — Supper at Emmaus
Caravaggio · 1601

A naked, grinning winged boy holding arrows climbs over a table above a scattered violin, lute, armor, crown and globe — Caravaggio, Amor Vincit Omnia, 1601–02 — Amor Vincit Omnia
Caravaggio · 1601–02

Christ guides the finger of a frowning old apostle into the wound in his side as two other men lean in to stare — Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, c. 1601–02 — The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
Caravaggio · c. 1601–02

A young soldier lies on his back with arms raised beneath a lit piebald horse held by an old groom in darkness — Caravaggio, The Conversion of Saint Paul, 1600–01 — The Conversion of Saint Paul
Caravaggio · 1600–01

Two men lower the pale dead body of Christ onto a jutting stone slab as three women grieve, one raising her arms — Caravaggio, The Entombment of Christ, 1603–04 — The Entombment of Christ
Caravaggio · 1603–04

In a shadowed prison courtyard an executioner pins down the bleeding saint as a girl holds out a golden platter and prisoners watch through bars — Caravaggio, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, 1608 — The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
Caravaggio · 1608

A bare-shouldered boy holds out the bleeding, open-mouthed head of a bearded man against a black background — Caravaggio, David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1609–10 — David with the Head of Goliath
Caravaggio · c. 1609–10

A screaming severed head with wild eyes and writhing snakes for hair, blood streaming from its neck, painted on a round green shield — Caravaggio, Medusa, c. 1597–98 — Medusa
Caravaggio · c. 1597–98

A young woman in a white chemise and dark gold-patterned skirt kneels on a red cushion holding a long sword, beside a broken spiked wheel and a palm frond — Caravaggio, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1598 — Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Caravaggio · c. 1598

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), known simply as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter who changed the course of European art. Working mainly in Rome, he painted religious and mythological scenes with street models, hard shadows and startling directness, and his style spread across Europe within a generation.

Life in brief

Born in Milan and raised partly in the town of Caravaggio, he trained in Milan before arriving in Rome in the early 1590s. Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte became his patron, and public commissions followed, beginning with the Saint Matthew paintings in the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi (1599–1600). His life was as violent as his pictures. In 1606 he killed Ranuccio Tomassoni in a brawl and fled Rome, working in Naples, Malta and Sicily. He died in 1610 at Porto Ercole while trying to return to Rome for a pardon.

Style

Caravaggio painted directly onto the canvas from posed models, without preparatory drawings, under a single strong light source. Figures emerge from deep shadow, a manner later called tenebrism.

Works in our catalogue

Medusa is painted on a convex ceremonial shield. Caravaggio made two versions: the first (around 1596–97) is in a private collection, the second (around 1597–98) in the Uffizi, Florence. The severed head of the Gorgon screams at the moment of death, blood still spurting from the neck, and many scholars believe Caravaggio used his own face as the model.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria (around 1598–99, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid) shows the martyr kneeling beside the spiked wheel of her torture, holding a sword, with a palm of martyrdom at her feet. The model was probably Fillide Melandroni, who also sat for other early works.

Where to see his work

Rome holds the largest concentration, in churches and the Galleria Borghese. Explore more in Caravaggio Paintings and Baroque Art.

Questions & answers

Where is Caravaggio's Medusa?

The best-known version of Caravaggio's Medusa, painted around 1597–98 on a convex wooden shield, is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. An earlier, slightly smaller first version of around 1596–97 is in a private collection.

Why is Caravaggio so important?

Caravaggio replaced idealized figures with real models and lit them with dramatic, single-source light. This realism and chiaroscuro reshaped Baroque painting and inspired followers across Europe, from Artemisia Gentileschi to Rembrandt and Velázquez's generation.

How did Caravaggio die?

Caravaggio died on 18 July 1610 at Porto Ercole in Tuscany, aged 38, while traveling back toward Rome to seek a pardon for the 1606 killing of Ranuccio Tomassoni. The cause is uncertain; fever, infection and lead poisoning have all been proposed.