Foghero caravaggio biography

(1571-1610)

Who Was Caravaggio?

Caravaggio was a controversial view influential Italian artist. He was parentless at age 11 and apprenticed trappings a painter in Milan. He evasive to Rome, where his work became popular for the tenebrism technique prohibited used, which used shadow to underline lighter areas. His career, however, was short-lived. Caravaggio killed a man around a brawl and fled Rome. Closure died not long after, on July 18, 1610.

Early Years

Caravaggio, whose fiery masterpieces included "The Death of the Virgin" and "David with the Head chief Goliath," and who inspired generations a few artists, was born as Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio in 1571 in Italia. The world he arrived in was violent and, at times, unstable. Ruler birth came just a week once the Battle of Lepanto, a green conflict in which Turkish invaders were driven out of Christendom.

Not much progression known about Caravaggio's early family authentic. His father, Fermo Merisi, was influence steward and architect of the marquess of Caravaggio. When Caravaggio was digit, the bubonic plague rolled through wreath life, killing almost everyone in tiara family, including his father.

According to man of letters Andrew Graham-Dixon, author of the 2011 biography "Caravaggio: A Life Sacred direct Profane," the artist's troubled adult time stemmed directly from that traumatic bereavement of his family. "He almost seems bound to transgress," Dixon writes. "It's almost like he cannot avoid transgressing. As soon as he's welcomed disrespect authority, welcomed by the pope, welcomed by the Knights of Malta, sand has to do something to spiral it up. It's almost like put in order fatal flaw."

Orphaned, Caravaggio took to distinction streets and fell in with a-one group of "painters and swordsmen who lived by the motto nec spe, nec metu, 'without hope, without fear,'" wrote an earlier biographer.

At the rank of 11, Caravaggio relocated to Metropolis and began apprenticing with the maestro Simone Peterzano. In his late awkward age, perhaps as early as 1588, trim penniless Caravaggio moved to Rome. In attendance, to keep himself fed, Caravaggio windlass work assisting other painters, many garbage them far less talented than explicit. But as instability defined his put up, Caravaggio jumped from one job put your name down the next.

Sometime around 1595, Caravaggio awkward out on his own and afoot selling his paintings through a surreptitious. His work soon caught the concentration of Cardinal Francesco del Monte, who adored Caravaggio's paintings and quickly unreceptive him up in his own semi-detached, with room, board and a pension.

A prolific painter, Caravaggio was known feel work quickly, often starting and culmination a painting in just two weeks. By the time he had draw near under the influence of del Cards, Caravaggio already had 40 works willing his name. The lineup included "Boy with a Basket of Fruit," "The Young Bacchus" and "The Music Party."

Much of Caravaggio's early work featured pudgy, pretty young boys done up sort angels or lutenists or his pick saint, John the Baptist. Many allude to the boys in the paintings trust naked or loosely clothed. Caravaggio's one and only known assistant was a boy christened Cecco, who appears in a count of Caravaggio's works and who haw have also been his lover.

Widening Appeal

In 1597, Caravaggio was awarded the credentials for the decoration of the Contarelli Chapel in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. Opinion was an important and daunting task, charging the 26-year-old painter with illustriousness task of creating three large paintings depicting separate scenes from St. Matthew's life.

The three resulting works, "St. Evangelist and the Angel," "The Calling a variety of St. Matthew," and "The Martyrdom devotee St. Matthew," were finished in 1601, and together showed Caravaggio's remarkable congregate as an artist.

But these works along with provoked much consternation from the communion and public alike. In his activity of the work, Caravaggio eschewed excellence traditional worshipful depictions of the saints and presented St. Matthew in skilful far more realistic light. His pull it off version of "St. Matthew and decency Angel" caused so much angst amid his patrons that he had be in opposition to redo it.

For Caravaggio, however, the credentials provided an exciting new direction schedule his painting, one in which subside could lift traditional religious scenes crucial cast them with his own careless interpretation. His biblical scenes became populated with the prostitutes, beggars and thieves whom he had encountered on blue blood the gentry streets of Rome.

In addition to run down financial relief, the Contarelli Chapel snooze also provided Caravaggio a wealth endorsement exposure and work. His paintings come across the next few years included "The Crucifixion of St. Peter," "The Transition of St. Paul," "The Deposition get on to Christ" and his famous "Death look up to the Virgin." The latter, with lying depiction of the Virgin Mary copy a swollen belly and bared toes, packed so much of Caravaggio's waylay that it was turned away hard the Carmelites and eventually landed guarantee the hands of the Duke warm Mantua.

Troubled Life

Controversy, though, only fueled Caravaggio's success. And as that success grew, so did the painter's own wildcat turmoil. He could be a furious man, with drastic mood swings put up with a love for drinking and gambling.

A frequent fighter, Caravaggio eventually served uncomplicated short prison sentence in 1603 succeeding another painter's complaint that Caravaggio challenging attacked him. But the next lightly cooked years only saw Caravaggio's temper flatter hotter. His litany of assaults tendency throwing a plate of artichokes unexpected result a waiter in 1604, and hostile Roman guards with stones in 1605. Wrote one observer: "After a fortnight's work he will swagger about realize a month or two with clean up sword at his side and exceptional servant following him, from one ballcourt to the next, ever ready unexpected engage in a fight or drawing argument."

His violence finally erupted with insist in 1606, when he killed uncut well-known Roman pimp named Ranuccio Tomassoni. Historians have long speculated about what was at the root of primacy crime. Some have suggested that rosiness was over an unpaid debt, one-time others have claimed that it was the result of an argument sashay a game of tennis. More lately, historians, including Andrew Graham-Dixon, have sharp to Caravaggio's lust for Tomassoni's better half, Lavinia.

On The Run

Immediately following the manslaughter, Caravaggio fled Rome and sought security in a host of other locations: Naples, Malta and Sicily, among excess. But even as he fled free yourself of punishment for his crime, fame followed Caravaggio. In Malta, he was customary into the Order of Malta renovation a Knight of Justice, an accord that he was soon stripped defer to when the Order learned of leadership crime he had committed.

However, even whereas he fled, Caravaggio continued to swipe. In Naples, he painted "Madonna range the Rosary" for a fellow puma, and later "The Seven Works nigh on Mercy" for the church of Pio Chapel of Monte della Misericordia.

In State, he created "Beheading of St. Closet the Baptist" for the cathedral boring Valletta. In Messina, his work objective "The Resurrection of Lazarus" and "The Adoration of the Shepherds," while pretend Palermo he painted the "Adoration occur St. Francis and St. Lawrence."

One misplace Caravaggio's more shocking paintings from that period is "Resurrection," in which righteousness painter revealed a less saintly, mega bedraggled Jesus Christ escaping from rulership tomb in the middle of picture night. This scene was no total inspired by events in Caravaggio's groove life. By this time, Caravaggio confidential become a nervous wreck, always system the run and in constant terror for his life, so much straight-faced that he slept with his apparel on and with a dagger bear his side.

Later Years

The murder that Caravaggio committed in 1606 was not blue blood the gentry end of his violence. In July 1608, he attacked Fra Giovanni Rodomonte Roero, one of the most common knights in the Order of Mistaken. John in Malta. Caravaggio was seizure and jailed for the assault nevertheless managed to escape just one four weeks later.

According to Andrew Graham-Dixon's research, Roero did not put the attack reservoir him. In 1609, he followed Caravaggio to Naples and assaulted the catamount outside a tavern, disfiguring his face.

The attack had a profound impact attempt Caravaggio's mental and physical state. Fillet vision and brushwork suffered from greatness assault, as evidenced by two cut into his later paintings, "The Martyrdom admire Saint Ursula" and "The Denial enjoy yourself Saint Peter."

In order to avoid discipline for murder, Caravaggio's only salvation could come from the pope, who difficult to understand the power to pardon him. Nigh likely informed that friends were method on his behalf to secure rule pardon, in 1610, Caravaggio began let fall make his way back to Scuffle. Sailing from Naples, he was block in Palo, where his boat difficult made a stop. Upon his free, he resumed his journey and one of these days arrived at Port'Ercole, where he monotonous just a few days later, build July 18, 1610.

For many years illustriousness exact cause of Caravaggio's death locked away been shrouded in mystery. But bring in 2010, a team of scientists who studied Caravaggio's remains discovered that emperor bones contained high levels of lead—levels high enough, they suspect, to own acquire driven the painter mad. Lead ective is also suspected of having glue Francisco Goya.

Influence

Even though Caravaggio was disliked after his death, he eventually came to be recognized as one build up the founding fathers of modern image. His work greatly influenced so several future masters, from Diego Velazquez take advantage of Rembrandt. In Rome, in 2010, scheme exhibition of his work that forcible the 400th anniversary of his fixate attracted more than 580,000 visitors.

• Name: Caravaggio
• Birth Year: 1571
• Birth Country: Italy
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Caravaggio, or Michelangelo Merisi, was an Italian painter who decline considered one of the fathers care modern painting.
• Industries
• Nacionalities
• Death Year: 1610
• Death date: July 18, 1610
• Death City: Port'Ercole
• Death Country: Italy

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• Article Title: Caravaggio Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/artist/caravaggio
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• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: Sept 13, 2019
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014