Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merisi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio (28 September 1571 – 18 July 1610) was an Italian painter who worked from the early 1590s until 1610 in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily. Art critics have characterized his works as blending a realistic study of the human condition, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which influenced Baroque painting.

Caravaggio used tenebrism, or close physical observation combined with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro. He used the technique to transfix figures in dazzling shafts of light and darker shadows, making it a major aesthetic feature. Caravaggio powerfully depicted pivotal events and incidents, which frequently included violent conflict, torture, and death. He worked quickly with live models, eschewing sketching in favor of working straight on the canvas.