His Early Life

Caravaggio’s early Christian name was Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610). He was born on Sept 29, 1571, in Milan, Italy, a few years after the death of the famous sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). He was the first child of Fermo Merisi and his second wife, Lucia Aratori. When the bubonic plague broke out in Milan in the summer of 1576, Caravaggio’s family moved to their village of birth, Caravaggio. At that time, Caravaggio was only about five years old. Historians feel that this was the reason why Michelangelo Merisi became Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio. His father was a simple stonemason. He was also a qualified artisan entitled to run a workshop and hire apprentices. However, the family had connections with two of the most powerful and influential dynasties in Italy, but only Caravaggio’s mother’s side. One of these two influential families was Costanza Colonna who would be a constant support to Caravaggio when he was in need later in his life.

The End of the Era of Giants in Italian Painting

Before Caravaggio’s arrival on the Roman scene in the latter part of the 16th century, there was intense competition between the giants of that era such as da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Historians feel that the egoistic approach adopted by these giants in painting was witnessing the downward trend in Italian Renaissance painting. The death of Michelangelo and Titian signalled the end of the High Renaissance. Another set of greats in the Venetian movement of painting included Giorgione, Titian and Tintoretto also appeared exhausted. Experts say that the works of Leonardo, Michelangelo and Titian made in the final phase of their life seemed to question the very foundation of their achievement. Michelangelo’s ‘Last Judgement, Titian’s ‘Crowning with Thorns’ and ‘Peita’ were all works of doubt, despair and disillusionment.

Recognition by Cardinal

Caravaggio’s moved to Rome in 1592 at the age of 21. Rome, with its classical buildings and famous artworks, was Italy’s artistic centre and an irresistible magnet for young artists. Caravaggio’s first few years in Rome were a story of his struggle. He specialised initially in still lives of fruits and flowers. Caravaggio sold these paintings on the streets of Rome. In 1595, his luck changed. An eminent Cardinal, Francesco del Monte recognised his talent and took Caravaggio into his household. He received his first commission through the Cardinal’s acquaintance. His work became so innovative and compelling that he became a celebrity overnight.

His Religious Paintings

His religious subjects in his paintings enhanced the mundane quality of the events. He was using Roman people on the street as models for the Apostles and Mary. The Church rejected some of Caravaggio’s religious paintings by treating them as inappropriate. But he had a highly sophisticated audience. According to one of his biographers, Caravaggio was a fast worker, but he also liked to play as hard as he worked. After a fortnight of hard work, he used to swagger about for a month with his sword at his side and a servant following, ready to engage in a fight or argument. It was most awkward to get along with him.

His Notoriety

Caravaggio was notorious for all sorts of misdemeanours and major offences. As the procession of a sword required a licence, Caravaggio was arrested repeatedly for either slashing the cloak of an adversary or throwing a plate of artichokes at a waiter or scarring a guard or abusing the police. He was even convicted of murder committed, possibly, over a game of tennis. Historians describe Caravaggio as ‘arrogant’, ‘rebellious’ and ‘ a murderer’. The short and tempestuous life matched the drama of his famous works. His paintings were controversial, popular and hugely influential on the succeeding generations of painters all over Europe.

A Spontaneous Painter

Caravaggio’s painting techniques were as spontaneous as his notorious temper. He painted straight onto the canvas with minimal preparation. Sometimes, he abandoned a disappointing composition and painted the new one all over again. Caravaggio used ordinary working people with irregular, rough and characterful faces as models for his portraits and paintings of saints. In an incident involving a very polite young man in a tennis match in 1606, Caravaggio’s temper went a step too far. The incident escalated into a swordfight and he stabbed his rival and the man died of his sword wound. He had to leave Rome rather than face justice though he did not doubt that he would obtain a pardon.

His Malta Experience

In his bid to escape justice, Caravaggio went to Naples and then to the island of Malta, independent sovereignty and home of the Knights of Malta. In return for a painting of the ‘Beheading of St John the Baptist’, he was granted membership. Caravaggio’s social standing in Malta was high and he received a reward including two slaves and a gold chain. When things had returned to normal, he got into another fight with a knight and found himself in prison. After he escaped from prison, he was expelled.

Pardon and Death

Caravaggio returned to Naples where he became in another brawl in a bar. In this case, he had his face slashed and he became badly disfigured. In the meantime, some of his friends in Rome petitioned the Pope successfully for pardon so that Caravaggio the painter could return. After having boarded the ship sailing for Rome, he was again arrested and he had to buy his way out of jail. By the time he was released, the ship with all his possessions had sailed without him onboard. Walking along the coast, he fell ill with malaria. A few days later, alone and feverish, he died. Caravaggio lived an enormously famous and notoriously eventful life.

‘The Death of the Virgin’

Caravaggio painted his well-known painting ‘The Death of the Virgin’ when he was working in Rome during the period from 1601 to1606. The painting was commissioned y Laerzio Cherubini, a papal lawyer, for his chapel in the Carmelite church. The depiction of the Death of the Virgin caused a controversy stir and was rejected as unfit by the parish. A few people thought that Caravaggio modelled a prostitute, possibly his mistress, as the Virgin and the breach of decorum in this manner led to the rejection of the painting. Another painting made Carlo Saraceni, a close follower of Caravaggio, replaced Caravaggio’s painting. Peter Paul Rubens praised Caravaggio’s painting as one of his best works. Upon his recommendations, the painting was bought by Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. The painting was briefly exhibited between the first and the seventh of April 1607. Thereafter, the painting changed many hands and finally, it became the property of Louis XIV and the French Royal Collection. However, Caravaggio had fled Rome by then after he killed a man during one of his frequent brawls in Rome.

His Best-known Paintings

Some of Caravaggio’s best-known paintings include ‘Boy bitten by a Lizard’, ‘Salome received the Head of John the Baptist’, ‘The Supper at Emmaus‘, ‘Boy with a Basket of Fruit’, ‘Death of the Virgin’, ‘Sick Bacchus’, ‘The musicians’, ‘Head of the Medusa’, ‘The Conversion of St. Paul’, ‘Th Entombment of Christ’, ‘The Beheading of St. John the Baptist’, ‘The Calling of St. Mathew’, ‘The Burial of St. Lucy’, ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew’, ‘The Seven Acts of Mercy’, etc.