The life and art of Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio (1571-1610) is currently experiencing a worldwide revival. Three new books on his life were published in 2025 alone, and several documentaries and docudramas have been produced in English and Italian over the last few years. The Caravaggio exhibition at the Barberini Palace in Rome in 2025 assembled dozens of Caravaggio masterpieces under one roof, giving experts and the general public alike a rare glimpse into Caravaggio’s artistic genius. In the article that follows, Francis Crescia speculates on Caravaggio’s place in the pantheon of artists and on his newfound appeal these many centuries after his death.
Italy is known for producing some of history’s greatest artists. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the quintessential Renaissance man, excelled in both painting and engineering, creating masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. Michelangelo (1475-1564) was a renowned sculptor, painter, and architect, admired to this day for works like the Statue of David and the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Raphael (1483-1520) made complex art look effortless, and his influence on European painting extended into the nineteenth century. These artists dominated the Italian Renaissance and were considered the standard bearers for artists to follow.
The era of the Renaissance had long since passed when 21-year-old Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio arrived in Rome in 1592, and the city was ready for new artistic ideas. Sixteenth-century Rome was a very dangerous place, plagued by rampant crime, disease, and political instability. The Roman Catholic Church was in crisis, with the Protestant Reformation encroaching on its once-uncontested authority. Noble families held vendettas against each other, and these often resulted in murders. Still, artists from across Europe flocked to Rome, as the city was undergoing a massive transformation to rebuild its infrastructure and image. The Church was intensely focused on the arts, offering opportunities for commissions. Rome’s narrow dark streets and its chaos suited Caravaggio’s volatile personality, which seemed to fuel his innovative painting style.
Michelangelo Merisi was born in Milan in 1571. In 1592, as a talented but starving young artist, he set his sights on Rome. But his artistic ambition apparently was not his only motivation. He reportedly fled his hometown to escape the authorities who wanted to question him after a brawl in which a police officer was wounded. This pattern of violence and flight would repeat itself for much of Caravaggio’s short and often erratic life. He disregarded artistic rules in the same way that he disdained the rules of behaviour, revolutionizing the art world during his lifetime, but constantly living on the edge.
In Rome, Caravaggio spent his days in Piazza Navona, a raucous place with a lively tavern scene, where artists mingled, contracted models, and solicited commissions from wealthy patrons such as the Borghese family. At first, Caravaggio struggled to find work. Eventually he was hired at a local workshop owned by the prominent Roman Mannerist painter Cavaliere d’Arpino, where his still-life paintings caught the eye of Cardinal Del Monte. The cardinal recognized Caravaggio’s talent and invited him to stay in the Palazzo Madama, where he would introduce him to other artists, musicians, and influential people.
Left: Narcissus (c 1599); right: Saint Francis in Prayer (c 1604), by Caravaggio. Photos: F Crescia.
The Roman art scene had become stagnant with Mannerism as the dominant style, which favoured distorted figures, complex compositions, and technical virtuosity. Caravaggio rejected Mannerism, along with the great masters of the past. He preferred to paint directly from life, without preliminary drawings or sketches. He focused on the unvarnished truth about human existence, using real people as models – beggars, criminals, and prostitutes – to depict religious stories. He concentrated on raw emotional intensity rather than artistic formulas.
Following the Council of Trent in 1563, the Church determined that a powerful way to regain moral authority lost to Protestantism was to utilize art as a propaganda tool, aimed at inspiring faith, clarifying doctrine, and combating heresy. Caravaggio depicted saints and biblical figures as ordinary people looking rugged, with weathered faces and dirty feet, which appealed to the masses. Caravaggio’s Crucifixion of Saint Peter, for example, dramatizes the apostle’s martyrdom under Emperor Nero. The painting focuses on the gritty and physically demanding scene, with the strain of the executioners as they lift the cross, rather than divine glory. The painting emphasizes the martyrdom of a saint and illustrates the Church’s foundation through acts of sacrifice. Caravaggio’s approach to realism met the Church’s need for powerful imagery to reconnect with the faithful.
Left: Conversion on the Way to Damascus (1601); right: Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601), by Caravaggio. Photos: F Crescia.
It is impossible to separate Caravaggio’s art from his tumultuous personal life. Michelangelo Merisi lost his parents to the plague at a young age, and that trauma may have sparked a rebellious, volatile spirit that manifested itself throughout his life. He would find temporary happiness in his art but was antagonistic towards the world around him. He would get commissions by the Church and then test the Church’s authority. He painted the Death of the Virgin, for example, by using a prostitute as a model for the Virgin Mary, causing outrage and the work being rejected. He would work for a few weeks to complete a painting, and then with his sword by his side he would roam the streets of Rome, accompanied by a servant, in search of trouble. His reckless lifestyle led him to disputes and gambling debts. He purportedly fought a duel over a woman thought to be the wife of a certain Ranuccio Tomassoni, whom he fatally wounded in the groin, causing him to bleed to death. As a result, he was branded a bando capitale, where anyone could legally kill him and receive a reward from the pope.
Following this incident, Caravaggio fled Rome and spent several years wandering – from Naples to Malta to Sicily – and producing masterpieces everywhere he went. One of his most famous paintings, David with the Head of Goliath, in which he depicts his own face as Goliath, serves as a dark personal confession from a killer in search of redemption. He created the painting while in Naples, where he was in hiding, hoping to send it to Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a powerful official in the pope’s office, who could assist him in obtaining a pardon.
Caravaggio has left a lasting legacy, influencing the work of the likes of Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt, and countless others. According to art critic André Berne-Joffroy, “What begins in the work of Caravaggio is, quite simply, modern painting.” Caravaggio revolutionized the way the human figure was painted and he mastered a theatrical style of lighting characterized by high contrast, which created images rich in emotional narrative and psychological depth.
David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio (c 1610). Photo: F Crescia
His work has also influenced the world of film. It can be argued that he was the world’s first cinematographer, 300 years before the invention of the movie camera. He would punch holes in the ceiling and use mirrors to project images of his models onto his canvas. Film Director Martin Scorsese considers Caravaggio a major influence, particularly in the painter’s dramatic use of light and shadow, as well as his street-level realism.
If Michelangelo’s art, which has been admired for nearly 500 years, can be described as a constant struggle for perfection, Caravaggio’s work is a search for truth. Unlike Michelangelo, who died at 88, working on St Peter’s Basilica, Caravaggio lived his life like a comet that was bound to crash. He died at 38 under mysterious circumstances somewhere between Naples and Rome, awaiting word that he could return to Rome, a city where he lived, loved, and from which he set the art world on a new course.
Based in Toronto, Francis Crescia writes about political, economic, and cultural issues.
