Caravaggio: Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610) more famously known as Caravaggio, was a revolutionary figure in European art. Diverging from the idealized figures of the High Renaissance, and the elongated and distorted proportions of Mannerism, Caravaggio invented his own unique style of painting that would later birth the Baroque. The three paintings, the Boy Bitten by a lizard (1593-1594), The Supper at Emmaus (1601), and Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist (1609-1610), demonstrate the artistic aptitude of Caravaggio, and his ever changing narrative. Caravaggio’s, the Boy Bitten by a lizard, best exemplifies his early years of paintings. Having learned the skills of portraiture and still-lifes during his apprenticeship in Rome,
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Now with his work in the public domain, artists from around Italy and Europe could observe Caravaggio’s paintings, leading to the rise of his popularity, and the spread of his ideas. One such piece that emerged from his ever-growing popularity was The Supper at Emmaus (1601). No longer depicting the awkward proportions of the Boy Bitten by a Lizard, the Supper at Emmaus exemplifies Caravaggio's growing sophistication and artistic development. In the Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio employs the technique of tenebrism, the strong contrast of light and dark, a technique he was most famous for. Like with his emphasis of naturalism, Caravaggio's use of light extended far past aesthetic reasons. A single sharp beam of light illuminates the face of the risen Christ, and his disciples drawing attention and focus onto the figures and the precise moment they realize the stranger is the risen christ. The intense and vivid tenebrism illustrated in the Supper at Emmaus, provides a heightened drama as well as spirituality, further pulling the viewer into the paintings. Unlike mannerists with their harsh delineated lines, Caravaggio uses light to model forms and textures. The highlighting produced by the light endows the life-size figures with a startling presence and theatricality typical of the Baroque. To Caravaggio, light is
Now with his work in the public domain, artists from around Italy and Europe could observe Caravaggio’s paintings, leading to the rise of his popularity, and the spread of his ideas. One such piece that emerged from his ever-growing popularity was The Supper at Emmaus (1601). No longer depicting the awkward proportions of the Boy Bitten by a Lizard, the Supper at Emmaus exemplifies Caravaggio's growing sophistication and artistic development. In the Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio employs the technique of tenebrism, the strong contrast of light and dark, a technique he was most famous for. Like with his emphasis of naturalism, Caravaggio's use of light extended far past aesthetic reasons. A single sharp beam of light illuminates the face of the risen Christ, and his disciples drawing attention and focus onto the figures and the precise moment they realize the stranger is the risen christ. The intense and vivid tenebrism illustrated in the Supper at Emmaus, provides a heightened drama as well as spirituality, further pulling the viewer into the paintings. Unlike mannerists with their harsh delineated lines, Caravaggio uses light to model forms and textures. The highlighting produced by the light endows the life-size figures with a startling presence and theatricality typical of the Baroque. To Caravaggio, light is