Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da, << `kar` uh VAH joh, `my` kuhl AN juh `loh` muh REE zee dah >> (1573-1610), was an Italian painter known for the powerful realism of his religious pictures. Caravaggio refused to idealize his religious figures in the tradition of earlier European art. He supposedly used peasants and people from the streets as models for his unorthodox interpretations of Biblical stories.
In most of his paintings, Caravaggio grouped his figures against a plain, dark background and spotlighted them with an intense, revealing light. Caravaggio’s realistic approach influenced such artists as Peter Paul Rubens and Diego Velazquez and helped establish the baroque movement in European art (see Baroque ).
Caravaggio’s real name was Michelangelo Merisi. He named himself after his birthplace, the northern Italian town of Caravaggio. He died on July 18, 1610.
