View Page: Caravaggio

	Caravaggio
	written by sunyuh / 10.13.2005

Section One

1 of 7

Introduction

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/bio/c/caravagg/biograph.html

Caravaggio

Portrait

Michelangelo Merisi was born in 1571 in Milan. His predicted birthday is September 29th, it being St. Archangel’s Day, for Michael. Caravaggio, the name he later goes by, is a town 43km east of Milan. The plague of 1576/1577 forced Michelangelo’s family to move to Caravaggio for safety. Unfortunately, the disease had already been exposed and Caravaggio’s father and grandparents passed away. Yet even with these events, it is likely that Caravaggio had a fairly comfortable childhood and some schooling. His father had owned property, and there is evidence of his literacy through books Caravaggio later owned, signature on receipts, and verses. This is particularly important because there has been claim to Carvaggio’s illiteracy.

In 1584 Caravaggio returns to Milan to apprentice himself to Simoe Peterzano for four years. Here he is influenced by Lombardy art (the region) which consists of realistic styles and begins to explore and paint still life’s.

Caravaggio returns to his town after the apprenticeship. In 1590 his mother dies and Caravaggio sells his father’s property and departs for Rome where his brother and uncle live as priests. His relationship with his brother must have been delicate, for they did not have much contact but it was his uncle who set Caravaggio up with his first artists’ contacts and jobs. Though none of these jobs in the beginning were very promising; Caravaggio rarely stayed with one for a long period of time, had no fixed residence and often worked for artists of “lesser talent.” During this time, Caravaggio probably had run out of the money that he had made by selling his father’s land, and was living poorly. But Rome was small at the time, the population being around 109,000 and Caravaggio soon met the people that would help him. He eventually worked for artists Giueppe Cesari d’Arpino, and soon after Caravaggio’s work was brought to Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte who provided Caravaggio with board, lodging, and pension. Del Monte was a man of great influence and became the link to Caravaggio’s future public commissions.

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