"Bacchus", "Lutnist", "Position in the grave" - all these paintings, known to any connoisseur of medieval paintings, were created by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The works of the creator, who had a great influence on the development of painting, are so perfect and numerous that it seems that he lived to be 100 years old and did not die at 39. What is known about this mysterious man, about whom contemporaries and descendants composed many stories, often not having nothing to do with the truth?
Childhood and youth
If the researchers are not mistaken, in 1571, a brilliant creator Caravaggio was born in a small Italian town. Unfortunately, the works created by him in the first years of his life did not reach our contemporaries. The boy was born in the family of a wealthy architect, but after 6 years he lost his father, who was taken by the plague (according to other sources, typhoid).
By the age of 13, it became clear how capable of painting Caravaggio. The works of the novice creator made an impression on Simone Peterzano, who in 1584 agreed to take the gifted teenager to his workshop for training. Michelangelo spent only 6 years as a student, since in 1590 he did not have a mother who also died from the disease. The young man received his part of the inheritance and entered an independent life.
The works of the artist Caravaggio are beautiful, but their creator himself was prone to various vices, like many other creative personalities. He loved spending time indulging in gambling, arranging friendly drinking parties. It is not surprising that in Rome the artist was penniless.
Black line
The first years of life in the Eternal City were unsuccessful for Caravaggio. The works written in that period can hardly be called successful. For the most part, these were unpretentious crafts, the stamping of which he was engaged in, working in the workshop of a certain Siciliano. Poverty pursuing the artist eventually leads him to a hospital bed. After recovering, he, after some time, returns to the hospital for the poor again, unsuccessfully falling off his horse.
After recovery, he refuses the help of intermediaries and tries to work independently. It is possible that after a long break, inspiration returns to the painter, since during this period he creates such canvases as “Penitent Magdalene”, “Fortune Teller Predicting Fate”. Later, researchers will name them among the best works of Caravaggio. Works (paintings) help him find the first serious patron, which becomes Cardinal Monte.
The powerful lord not only shares food with him, but also provides him with rich customers, which allows Michelangelo to forget about financial problems. The fame of the creator is growing, the black stripe is over.
Favorite Stories
The works of the artist Caravaggio are extremely difficult to confuse with canvases written by other masters, no matter how talented they are. The revolutionary rejects the traditional idealization of religious subjects for that time. The characters who came to life in his paintings look like real people. He thus presents the Greek and Roman gods, biblical apostles, martyrs.
Each hero, without exception, is endowed with an emphasized personality, if Caravaggio worked on its creation. The works, the work of a genius amaze with their characteristic drama, make an indelible impression. Not all customers agreed to accept their orders after seeing the result. Fighters for "traditional" painting even often declared the master’s paintings indecent.
Caravaggio innovations
What contribution did the artist make to the development of painting? He is credited with many diverse merits. Still life, everyday genre - these were not fashionable until the works of Caravaggio appeared. Italian painting (and then world painting) was enriched with new trends thanks to Michelangelo. He desperately struggled with the tradition of dividing genres, designating "low" and "high" directions.
The painting system that the artist was referring to was unique at that time. He emphasized the foreground, seeking his bright illumination. The background became unexpressed, nondescript. Such a combination provided an optical zoom effect. It seemed that objects came to life in the paintings of Caravaggio. The works, the biography of the creator - all testifies to the fact that he worked for hours on drawing the smallest details that look insignificant at first glance.
Early period of creativity
The artist, creating his first famous canvases, plays the role of an innovator, challenging established traditions, which he does not refuse in the future. In the period from 1591 to 1995 he creates such famous paintings as “The Lute Player”, “Bacchus”, “The Boy with Fruit”. By the way, the Hermitage is a must-see place for those who like the works written during this period by Caravaggio. The gallery provides visitors with the opportunity to admire the Lutnista.
All these paintings, which took pride of place in the creative heritage of Michelangelo, are united by the approach to the choice of heroes. As a rule, people from the crowd become such. Caravaggio with pleasure draws portraits of simple youths, mesmerizing with sensual and at the same time rude beauty, transfers the images of boys “from the people” onto paper. He portrays street musicians and traders, gypsies and dandies.
The famous painter also addresses the theme of violence, as evidenced by such canvases as “Judith and Holofernes”, “The Sacrifice of Abraham”. Some of his paintings containing cruel scenes are even scary, as the author pays maximum attention to naturalism.
Later works of the artist
The paintings created by the creator in the last years of his life are also of great value. For example, he writes a whole cycle of paintings, the main character of which becomes St. Matthew. The most famous of them is “The Calling of the Apostle Matthew”. The gospel legend comes to life in a shabby little room, the beloved genius people from the people become participants in the famous scene. Creates other works dedicated to this topic of Caravaggio, the life and death of St. Matthew become the plot for him more than once.
Road to death
Despite the recognition that the master’s talent was awarded during his lifetime, he spends the last years hiding from the authorities. Michelangelo is repeatedly in prison, accused of various crimes. Killing a man in a duel, he secretly leaves Rome, traveling from city to city. The artist spends some time in Malta, even goes knighting, then leaves for Naples. Death overtakes him at the age of 39, due to malaria.
Interesting Facts
Pictures are not all that our contemporaries got from Caravaggio. Works, self-portraits can tell a lot about him, but researchers' research provides even more complete information. For example, it is known that the Italian never married, did not leave descendants. It is believed that he preferred same-sex relationships, which is indirectly confirmed by his love for the image of half-naked young men.
Interestingly, a film released in 1986 was made about the life and death of Caravaggio. In the role of a man with whom the artist is in a romantic relationship, Sean Bean acts in this tape . Nowhere, except for the film "Caravaggio", the actor played more homosexuals.
Nowadays, paintings painted by Caravaggio, it is impossible to purchase. But any of them would cost about $ 100 million if it went to auction.