Caravaggio

Intro Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was born in 1571. He has a reputation, as the rebellious, hot-tempered punk of art, pitching up in Rome in the final decade of the 16th Century, and electrifying the art world as much for his quarrelsome antics as his unconventional pictures. Caravaggio works intensively for a fortnight and then swagger about for a month or two, ever ready to engage in a fight or an argument, with the result that it is most difficult to get along with him. He was brought to trial on at least 11 occasions. The charges included swearing at a constable, penning satirical verses about a rival painter, and chucking a plate of artichokes in a waiter’s face. He was forced to flee Rome, after killing a man during a brawl sparked by a dispute over a game of tennis. Caravaggio revolutionised art in several ways, his paintings are just as provocative as him. Wealthy patrons compete to buy his pictures, and artists emulate, or simply ripp off, his distinctive style. He uses models in an unorthodox and novel manner – pulling into his studio people from the streets whom he then paints directly from life. Caravaggio doesn’t bother with the academic study of drawing. He says that painting still life requires as much artistry as painting figures. Caravaggio’s use of light is what he’s most famous for, he doesn’t allow anyone to pose in daylight, he uses light to capture form, and add drama to otherwise everyday scenes. He uses light in an emblematic way, not just as theatre. You are a woman who owns a pub, so you are a social outcast too. You are tough and stern due to your upbringing and also because you have to be to survive as a business woman in 16th century. You are kind of a friend with Caravaggio and you often hide him when he is on the run. You are critical of his behaviour and often fight with him because of his antics, but you are also the voice of reason and the only one who can calm him down. He spends his time often drinking in your pub.