Caravaggio

  Michelangelo Merisi, called later Caravaggio, was born in either Milan, or a town of Caravaggio near Milan, as the son of a ducal architect. His early training started in 1584 under Simone Peterzano, a little known pupil of Titian, and continued till 1588.
            In 1592, Caravaggio went to Rome. His contact with Giuseppe Cesare d’Arpino (1568-1640), the most popular painter and art dealer in Rome at the turn of the century, brought him recognition.  Through the art business Caravaggio met his first patron Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, who not only held out the possibility of working independently, but also secured for him his first public commission: side paintings in the Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi. For Cardinal’s  Casino dell’Aurora he painted Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto (c.1599-1600).
            From then on he was flooded by public commissions. Yet because of his violent temper he was constantly in trouble with the law. Since 1600, he is regularly mentioned in police records, is constantly under accusations of assault, libel and other crimes. In 1606, he became involved in murder (for killing an opponent after a disputed score in a game of court tennis) and had to flee, finding refuge on the estates of Prince Marzio Colonna, where he painted Madonna of the Rosary (c.1606-1607).

 A great deal of his work was controversial because of the content, which was largely based on biblical figures and the violence that takes place in the bible. His main tool was the contrast between the dark and very light.