Italian artist Michelangelo Caravaggio: biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Michelangelo Caravaggio (1571-1610) was an Italian artist who abandoned the painting style characteristic of his era and laid the foundation for realism. His works reflect the worldview of the author, his indefatigable character. Michelangelo Caravaggio, whose biography is full of difficult moments, left an impressive legacy that still inspires artists around the world.

Signs of the era

The artist was born in 1571 in Lombardy. The name of the village (Caravaggio), in which Michelangelo was born, became his nickname. Historians note that Italy had a lot of trials at the time when Caravaggio lived and worked. The country was ravaged by wars and internal contradictions, complicated by the economic crisis. Some of the freedom of the Renaissance was replaced by an ecclesiastical reaction. All this could not but affect the art.

Mannerism and academicism

In the years when the Italian artist Michelangelo Caravaggio began to movecreative way, painting began to be filled with mystical subjects, far from reality. The mannerism supported by the church, which originated in the middle of the 16th century, was a subjective trend, not striving for harmony of the spiritual and physical components.

A little later, almost at the end of the century, academic painting appears. It is characterized by simplicity of composition and monumentality of forms, opposed to mannerism. Artists who preferred academicism turned to Antiquity with its idealized heroes and images, dismissing reality as not worth attention.

Michelangelo Caravaggio - an innovative artist

The direction created by Caravaggio, named after his death "caravagism", originates in the pictorial traditions of Northern Italy. One of Michelangelo Merisi's teachers in Milan was Simone Peterzano. Probably, it was from him that the artist learned to use the contrast of light and shadow, which later became one of the main distinguishing features of many of his paintings.

Michelangelo Caravaggio in his work continued the traditions of the realistic approach of the masters of Northern Italy. He did not become a follower of mannerism or academism, but laid the foundation for a new trend, which often caused criticism from both other painters and the church. However, some religious figures patronized Caravaggio. Among them, it is worth noting Cardinal del Monte, who favored the artist in the period from 1592 to 1594, when Michelangelo lived and worked in Rome.

Inhabitantprovinces

Michelangelo Caravaggio, whose biography, creativity and whole life are inextricably linked with provincial cities, even depicted ordinary people in canvases on religious themes. The heroes of his paintings are far from ancient ideals, they could be found on the streets of Italian villages. The artist created many genre paintings (for example, "Fortuneteller", "Young Man with a Lute"), in a realistic manner, conveying the life of the common people. In his paintings, depicting various scenes from the Holy Scriptures, far from canonical details appeared, making church ministers and martyrs not idols, but simple and understandable people. Among such canvases are the Magdalene and the Apostle Matthew.

The characteristic features of Michelangelo Caravaggio's works are realism, sometimes reaching extreme naturalism, laconic composition, the play of light and shadow, the use of restrained colors.

The Calling of the Apostle Matthew

The famous cycle of works for the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, depicting episodes from the life of St. Matthew, the artist created in the last decade of the 16th century. The best among them is often called "The Calling of the Apostle Matthew." The composition acquires special expressiveness due to the contrast of light and shadow. All the main details: - the finger of Christ, the face of the apostle - are brightly lit. The shadow covers minor elements of the canvas. Light creates a special movement of the picture, directs the viewer's eye. The artist in this picture found a place for realism anddetails specific to everyday situations. He depicted St. Matthew, the tax collector, counting money along with helpers. All the heroes of the picture, except for Christ and the Apostle Peter, are dressed in costumes modern for Caravaggio. The skill of the artist found expression in the depiction of the characters' faces.

Moving towards the goal no matter what

Stubborn, irrepressible and full of seething energy - this is how art historians describe Michelangelo Merisi. He persistently developed realism, despite the criticism and opposition of the church. The artist created his most significant works in 1600-1606. These include the paintings "Vision of Saul", "Martyrdom of the Apostle Peter", "Assumption" and others. These paintings caused disapproval from the church because of the deviation from the accepted manner of depiction, unnecessary, according to Catholic dignitaries, realism and materialism.

Glory and escape from Rome

"The Entombment" is one of the paintings by Michelangelo Caravaggio, whose photo invariably accompanies the description of the artist's biography. The unusually strong emotional effect produced by the canvas was achieved by the master with the help of light and shade contrast. The work was created for the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella in the Eternal City. The dramatic plot of the position in the tomb of the body of the Savior is written by the artist in white, red and blue tones, the tense confrontation of which multiplies the effect of the play of light and shadow. This canvas was recognized as a masterpiece not only among fans andfollowers of the master, but also his enemies.

And exactly at the moment when Michelangelo Caravaggio achieved fame, fate prepared another test for the artist. In 1606 he had to flee Rome after a duel. A quarrel during a ball game had fatal consequences: Caravaggio killed the opponent and was forced to leave the city.

Recent years

Hiding from justice, the artist continued to work, although his living conditions sometimes became unbearably difficult. In Naples, he wrote "Madonna with a rosary", "Seven works of mercy". The last picture of these is a combination of several different subjects. Despite the complex composition, the canvas does not fall apart into separate parts. The artist managed to put the plots together.

In M alta, having quarreled with a nobleman, Caravaggio was imprisoned and then fled to Sicily. The works of the last period of the master's life are poorly preserved. Pictures related to this time are full of drama. These include the Burial of St. Lucia", "The Beheading of John the Baptist", "The Adoration of the Shepherds". These paintings are united by the night space, acting as a backdrop for the main action and reluctantly parting, showing the heroes of the canvas.

The last years of Caravaggio spent wandering around Sicily. Shortly before his death, he went to Rome, where he was promised help in obtaining forgiveness from the Pope. However,here fate was not disposed to meet him halfway. On the way to the Eternal City, the artist fell ill. He died at Porto d'Ercole in 1610 from a fever.

Italian artist Michelangelo Caravaggio, whose photographs adorn all works on the history of art of the 17th century, had a huge impact on the development of painting. It is hard to imagine how many more masterpieces the master could create if his life had not ended at the age of 38. However, the fact that the artist managed to create made him one of the most revered masters of the past. Having become the ancestor of realism, he inspired many famous painters of Western Europe to create masterpieces. Rubens, Rembrandt, Velasquez and many others belong to their number. The followers of Michelangelo Merisi in Italy began to call themselves caravaggists, paying tribute to the pioneer of the genre.