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| Caravaggio (1571–1610) | ||||||||||
| Originally a mason’s labourer, Caravaggio’s remarkable talent led him to painting, which he pursued with relentless energy and striking force. Born Michelangelo Merisi in Caravaggio, Lombardy, he trained under Giuseppe Cesari in Rome but quickly developed a style of his own, rejecting much of what he found in his masters' works. He despised all forms of idealism, whether lofty or sentimental, and became the leading figure of the Naturalisti, painters who sought an unidealised, direct representation of nature. His technique, marked by dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, was applied with an almost furious intensity—an approach that reflected his own volatile temperament. Caravaggio’s fierce nature led him into violent conflicts, culminating in a fatal duel during a gambling dispute in Rome. Forced to flee, he sought refuge in Naples and later in Malta, where he was imprisoned after another violent altercation. Escaping to Sicily, he was ambushed and severely wounded by pursuers. Eventually pardoned, he set out for Rome, but a series of misfortunes followed—he was arrested by mistake, released, and left stranded in oppressive heat while still suffering from his injuries. Weakened by hardship, he died of fever on the beach at Porto Ercole. | ||||||||||
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Art