Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Overview: It was not until the middle of the 20th century that Caravaggio (1571-1610), an Italian painter long considered controversial, was rediscovered. An advocate of Realism, this artist of the Counter-Reformation challenged the establishment and returned a sense of humanity to images of the saints. The sensuality he gave them went beyond veneration to create an ambiguous eroticism, which incurred the wrath of the Church. Paradoxical and violent, this painter of shadows illustrated with solemnity his debauched lifestyle and dissolute morals. With his invention of chiaroscuro, he made his blood-soaked impression on the history of art.