Italian artist Michelangelo Caravaggio: biography, creativity

Michelangelo Caravaggio (1571-1610) - an Italian artist who refused from the characteristic manner of his era of painting and laid the foundation for realism. His works reflect the worldview of the author, his irrepressible nature. Michelangelo Caravaggio, whose biography is full of hard moments, left an impressive legacy, still inspiring 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, was his nickname. Historians note that the share of Italy in times when he lived and worked Caravaggio, had a lot of testing. The country was ravaged by wars and internal contradictions, complicated by the economic crisis. In place of some freedom of the Renaissance came a church reaction. All this could not but affect art.

Mannerism and Academism

In the years when the Italian artist Michelangelo Caravaggio began to move along the creative path, painting began to be filled with mystical subjects, far from reality. Supported by the church, Mannerism, which was born in the middle of the XVI century, was a subjective, spiritual and physical component that did not strive for harmony.

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

Michelangelo Caravaggio - an artist-innovator

The direction created by Caravaggio, named after his death "caravadzhizmom", originates in the picturesque traditions of Northern Italy. One of the teachers of Michelangelo Merizi in Milan was Simone Petzano. 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 canvases.

Michelangelo Caravaggio in his work continued the tradition of a realistic approach of the masters of Northern Italy. He did not become a follower of Mannerism or Academism, but he initiated a new trend, which often caused criticism from other painters as well as the church. However, some religious figures patronized Caravaggio. Among them is the cardinal de Monte, who favored the artist from 1592 to 1594, when Michelagello lived and worked in Rome.

The inhabitant of a province

Michelangelo Caravaggio, the biography, creativity and all life of which are inextricably linked with provincial cities, even in canvases on religious themes portrayed ordinary people. The heroes of his paintings are far from the ancient ideals, they could be found on the streets of Italian villages. The artist created a variety of genre paintings (for example, "Fortuneteller", "Young man with a lute"), in a realistic manner passing the life of the common people. In his paintings, depicting various subjects from the Holy Scriptures, there appeared far from the canonical details that made the servants of the church and martyrs not idols, but simple and understandable people. Among such paintings can be called "Magdalene" and "Apostle Matthew."

Characteristic for the work of Michelagelo Caravaggio features - this is realism, sometimes reaching to extreme naturalism, laconic composition, the play of light and shadow, the use of a restrained color scheme.

"The Apostle's Call to Matthew"

The famous cycle of works for the church of San Luigi dei Franchezi, depicting episodes of the life of St. Matthew, the artist created in the last decade of the XVI century. The best among them is often called "Appeal 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 the minor elements of the canvas. Light creates a special movement of the picture, directs the viewer's eyes. The artist and in this picture found a place for realism and details, typical for everyday situations. He portrayed St. Matthew, the tax collector, who counts money with his assistants. All the heroes of the painting, except Christ and the Apostle Peter, are dressed in modern costumes for Caravaggio. The mastery of the artist found expression in the depiction of the faces of the heroes.

Going to the goal no matter what

Stubborn, irrepressible and full of boiling energy - this is described by historians and art historians Michelangelo Merizi. 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 canvases "The Vision of Saul", "The Martyrdom of the Apostle Peter", "The Dormition" and others. These pictures aroused the disapproval of the church due to the deviation from the adopted manner of the image, unnecessary, in the opinion of Catholic dignitaries, of realism and materialism.

Glory and escape from Rome

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

And it was at that moment, when Michelangelo Caravaggio achieved fame, that fate prepared another challenge for the artist. In 1606, he had to flee Rome after the duel. The quarrel during the game of the ball had fatal consequences: Caravaggio killed the enemy and was forced to leave the city.

Last years

Hiding from justice, the artist continued to work, although the conditions of his life sometimes became unbearably heavy. In Naples, he wrote "The Madonna with the beads," "Seven deeds of mercy." The last picture from the above is a combination of several different plots. Despite the complex composition, the canvas does not break up into separate parts. The artist was able to compose the stories into a single whole.

In Malta, after quarreling with a nobleman, Caravaggio was sent to prison, and then fled to Sicily. The works of the last period of the master's life are poorly preserved. The paintings relating to this time are full of drama. These include "The Burial of St. Lucia "," Beheading of John the Baptist "," Adoration of the Shepherds ". These pictures unite the night space, acting as a background for the main action and reluctantly parting, showing the characters of the canvas.

Last years Caravaggio spent in wanderings around Sicily. Shortly before his death, he went to Rome, where he was promised assistance in obtaining pardon from the Pope. However, even here fate was not located to meet him halfway. On the way to the Eternal City, the painter fell ill. He died in Porto d'Ercole in 1610 from a fever.

The Italian artist Michelangelo Caravaggio, whose photographs adorn all works on the history of art of the XVII century, had a huge impact on the development of painting. It's hard to imagine how many more masterpieces a master could create, do not break his life in 38 years. However, and what the artist managed to create, made him one of the most revered masters of the past. Becoming the ancestor of realism, he inspired the creation of masterpieces of many famous painters of Western Europe. Among them are Rubens, Rembrandt, Velasquez and many others. Followers of Michelangelo Merizi in Italy began to call themselves caravaggists, paying tribute to the pioneer of the genre.