Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610) was an
Italian artist active in
Rome,
Naples,
Malta, and
Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the
Baroque school of painting.
Boy with a Basket of Fruit, 1593-1594. Oil on canvas, 67 × 53 cm (26
in × 21 in).
Galleria Borghese,
Rome.
The Musician, 1595-1596,
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York.
Judith Beheading Holofernes 1598-1599.
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome.
The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599-1600).
Contarelli Chapel,
San Luigi dei Francesi,
Rome. The beam of light, which enters the picture from the direction of a real window, expresses in the blink of an eye the conversion of St Matthew, the hinge on which his destiny will turn, with no flying angels, parting clouds or other artifacts.
The Crucifixion of Saint Peter, 1601.
Cerasi Chapel,
Santa Maria del Popolo,
Rome.
St. Jerome, 1605-1606,
Galleria Borghese,
Rome.
The Seven Works of Mercy, 1606-1607,
Pio Monte della Misericordia,
Naples.
The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy are:
- Feed the hungry
- Give drink to the thirsty
- Welcome the stranger
- Clothe the naked
- Visit the sick
- Visit the prisoner
- Bury the dead.
David with the Head of Goliath, 1609-1610,
Galleria Borghese,
Rome.
The Taking of Christ, 1602.
National Gallery of Ireland,
Dublin. Caravaggio's application of the
chiaroscuro technique shows through on the faces and armour notwithstanding the lack of a visible shaft of light. The figure on the extreme right is a self portrait.
Supper at Emmaus, 1601. Oil on canvas, 139 × 195 cm (55 × 77 in).
National Gallery, London.
Death of the Virgin. 1601-1606.
Louvre,
Paris.
The Entombment of Christ, (1602-1603),
Pinacoteca Vaticana,
Rome.
Conversion of Saint Paul, 1601,
Cerasi Chapel,
Santa Maria del Popolo,
Rome.
