Pioneer of the Baroque, master of chiaroscuro
The founder of Baroque painting, and one of the most violent geniuses in the history of art. He drove a shaft of strong light into the dark, using extreme contrast of light and shade to create the drama of a stage, and boldly gave his saints the rough faces and dirty feet of common street folk. His skill astonished the world, but his temper was savage — he killed a man in a brawl, was forced into exile, and died destitute on the run. To all of Europe’s painters after him, he left the power of light and shadow.
When Caravaggio painted saints and apostles, he never idealized them into ethereal beings. He hired beggars, prostitutes, and porters off the street as models, giving his figures sunburned skin, coarse hands, and mud-caked feet. This realism that "pulled the sacred back to earth" once enraged the Church, yet gave religious painting, for the first time, a piercing reality and warmth.
The authentication of Caravaggio’s works remains a puzzle in art history, with new pieces attributed or rejected from time to time; this site states his acknowledged masterpieces.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.