From the artist's life
Caravaggio killed a man in a brawl, fled Rome with a death sentence on his head, and died at 38 on a lonely beach — still hoping for a papal pardon.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaBaroque
Caravaggio
Caravaggio (1571–1610) revolutionised European art with violent realism and extreme chiaroscuro — pitch-black shadow pierced by raking light. He painted saints as ordinary, dirty-footed people, scandalising and electrifying Rome.
His tenebrism spread across Europe within a decade, shaping Rubens, Rembrandt, Velázquez and a whole generation of Caravaggisti.
- Pioneered tenebrism — dramatic spotlighting against deep darkness — that defined Baroque painting.
- Used street people as models for saints and the Virgin, breaking with idealised tradition.
- Lived as a violent fugitive; police records and a death sentence survive alongside his masterpieces.
Key works
Where to start
Complete list of key works
Works with a dedicated ArtAtlas page are highlighted in gold.
- The Calling of Saint MatthewOn ArtAtlas
- The Conversion of Saint PaulOn ArtAtlas
- The Entombment of ChristOn ArtAtlas
- Supper at EmmausListed for reference
- MedusaListed for reference
- Judith Beheading HolofernesListed for reference
- Amor Vincit OmniaListed for reference
- Self-Portrait as BacchusListed for reference
- The Fortune TellerListed for reference
- BacchusListed for reference
- The Seven Works of MercyListed for reference
- AnnunciationListed for reference
- Basket of FruitListed for reference
- Boy Peeling FruitListed for reference
- Boy Bitten by a LizardListed for reference
1609
The Calling of Saint Matthew
The Calling of Saint Matthew is an oil painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio that depicts the moment Jesus Christ calls on the tax collector Matthew to follow him. It was completed in 1599–1600 for the Contarelli Chapel in the church of the French congregation, San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, where it remains.
1600
The Conversion of Saint Paul
Caravaggio painted this canvas in 1600 as the second attempt — the Cerasi Chapel had already rejected his first version (now in a private collection) because the patrons found it too undignified: Paul looked like a drunk peasant falling off a horse, not a saint struck by divine light.
1602
The Entombment of Christ
This altarpiece was so admired that Rubens, Cézanne and even Géricault copied it — few paintings influenced so many great artists.