Caravaggio | The Lute Player / Suonatore di Liuto, 1595-1596

The Lute Player is an early work by Caravaggio, who sought above all to convey the reality and solidity of the surrounding world.

We can already see the elements of the artist's style which were to have such a widespread influence on other artists.

The figure of a young boy dressed in a white shirt stands out clearly against the dark background.

The sharp sidelighting and the falling shadows give the objects an almost tangible volume and weight.

Caravaggio was interested in the uniqueness of the surrounding world, and there are markedly individual features not only in the youth's face but also in the objects which make up the still life: the damaged pear, the crack in the lute, the crumpled pages of the music.

The melody written on those pages is that of a then fashionable song by Jacques Arcadelt, "You know that I love you".

Caravaggio | The Lute Player | The Hermitage version, 1595-1596

Caravaggio | Saint John the Baptist in the wilderness, 1604

"Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness" by Caravaggio, is a Baroque period painting on display at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

This masterpiece, one of the Museum’s greatest treasures, is one of only a few original works by Caravaggio in American collections.

Although he never took in pupils, Caravaggio’s enormous influence on other artists played a vital role in the development of the Italian Baroque.

In this Saint John the Baptist, Caravaggio has traded idealism for what oftentimes became in his own time a controversial realism.

Caravaggio | The crowning with thorns, 1603

The Crowning with Thorns is a painting by the Italian master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

Executed probably in 1603, it is now located in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

According to Caravaggio's biographer Giovanni Bellori a Crowning with Thorns was made for Caravaggio's patron Vincenzo Giustiniani, and this painting can be traced convincingly to the Giustiniani collection.

Caravaggio | Madonna of the Rosary / Madonna del Rosario, 1608

The Madonna of the Rosary is a painting finished in 1607 by the Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

It is the only painting by Caravaggio that could be called a standard Baroque altarpiece.

The commissioner of the work is uncertain. As altarpiece it would have been commissioned for a Dominican church, given the presence of Saint Dominic and Saint Peter Martyr of Verona.

The donor is included in the painting; at the left, dressed in black with a ruff, seeking protection under the cloak of Saint Dominic and peering out at the viewer.

According to some, the donor was Nicholas (or Nicholas) Radulovic, a rich merchant of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik in Croatia) and the first idea for the composition was a Madonna Enthroned with Saints Nicholas and Vito, then the subject was changed to reflect the wishes of the Dominicans.

Caravaggio | Maddalena in pianto / Magdalene Grieving, 1605-1606

According to some research, "Magdalene grieving" (1605-1606), would be a preliminary study for the character of one of the most famous works of the Lombard master conserved at the Musée du Louvre "The death of the Virgin" (1601-1605).

Commissioned in 1601 for the church of Santa Maria della Scala in Rome, The Death of the Virgin (c. 1601-1606) could not have been finished before 1605-1606.

After being refused by the monks, who found it unworthy of the church, it was replaced by a work on the same subject painted by Carlo Saraceni.

Caravaggio | The Supper at Emmaus, 1601

The Supper at Emmaus is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, completed in 1601, and now in London. It depicts the Gospel story of the resurrected Jesus's appearance in Emmaus.

Two of Jesus' disciples were walking to Emmaus after the Crucifixion when the resurrected Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but they did not recognise him.

At supper that evening in Emmaus

'... he took bread, and blessed it, and brake and gave to them.

And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight' (Luke 24: 30-31).

Christ is shown at the moment of blessing the bread and revealing his true identity to the two disciples.

Caravaggio | St John the Baptist at the Well, 1608

St. John the Baptist at the Well (also known as St. John the Baptist at the Fountain) is a painting attributed to Caravaggio, dated to 1608.

It belongs to the artist's late period, specifically during his time in Malta.

It is part of the Collezione Bonello in Valletta, Malta. Another version with similar themes is held at the Museo Tesoro Catedralicio in Toledo, Spain.

Caravaggio | John the Baptist feeding the Lamb

John the Baptist (sometimes called John in the Wilderness) was the subject of at least eight paintings by the Italian Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610).

The story of John the Baptist is told in the Gospels.

John was the cousin of Jesus, and his calling was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah.

He lived in the wilderness of Judea between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, "his raiment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey".

La vita di Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi, detto il Caravaggio (Milano 1571 - Porto Ercole 1610), è stato un pittore italiano.

Attivo a Roma, Napoli, Malta ed in Sicilia fra il 1593-1610, fu uno dei più celebri pittori italiani di tutti i tempi, dalla fama ancora oggi universale.

Il pittore apparteneva ad una famiglia stimata e abbastanza agiata.

La sua vocazione deve essersi manifestata molto presto, poiché già nel 1584 entra come allievo nella bottega del pittore bergamasco Simone Peterzano, allievo di Tiziano.

E' un periodo in cui si avvale di alcuni protettori, tra cui gli Sforza ed i Colonna, oppure come ad esempio il cardinale Del Monte, che lo alloggia nel suo palazzo e gli commissiona nature morte.

Caravaggio (1571-1610)

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily between 1593-1610.

He is commonly placed in the Baroque school, of which he was the first great representative.

Even in his own lifetime, Caravaggio was considered enigmatic, fascinating, rebellious and dangerous.

He burst upon the Rome art scene in 1600, and thereafter never lacked for commissions or patrons, yet handled his success atrociously.