Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) became one of the key representatives of Baroque by the novel approach to naturalism, dramatic illumination of his pictures and depiction of figures. Caravaggio studied in Lombardy and was born in Milan, but his career as an artist took place in Rome. The patron of the young artist was Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte. Caravaggio broke with the tradition of Late Renaissance and Mannerism by depicting the figures after life models, conveying deep psychological experiences and using contrasts of light and dark. His major works created for the Contarelli and Cerasi chapels contributed to Caravaggio’s fame and became prototypes of Baroque paintings. The later period of the artist’s life, which he spent in Naples, Malta, and Sicily, produced several influential works. In spite of the short and rather turbulent life of the artist, his style had a great impact on the history of European painting and became inspirational for the representatives of Caravaggism.

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