CaravaggioThe Renaissance gave birth to an explosion of new art and artists. Names such as Michelangelo, Donatello and Bernini were known throughout time for their innovations and inspirations, but it was an artist named Caravaggio who really stood out. Inspired by the dark events of his life, Caravaggio directly opposed the ideals established over the decade of the Renaissance and steered art in a new direction of realism to single-handedly become the pioneer of the Baroque style. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The unhappy life that Caravaggio lived began in a time of violence. His birth took place just a week before the Battle of Lepanto, a bloody conflict in which Turkish invaders were driven from Christendom. When Caravaggio was just six years old, the bubonic plague burst into his life, killing almost everyone in his family, including his father. Many, like biographer Andrew Graham-Dixon, have said that the artist's difficult years seemed to stem from the traumatic loss of his family. The tragic childhood was just the beginning of a cycle of being homeless, incarcerated in prison, or fugitive fleeing his crimes from city to city. Caravaggio's tumultuous life was also a blessing, as it gave him a unique perspective. While Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo believed that art should elevate its subject and depict an idealized fiction, Caravaggio "knew no master but the model" and saw painting as an extension of the everyday experience, which forced him to create such paintings as a banal work. fruit basket. Because of his deeply contrasting philosophy based on his familiarity with the dark sides of life, his resulting paintings were therefore also deeply contrasting (and shocking) from previous works. In all the scenes from Saint Matthew (composed of “The Inspiration of Saint Matthew”, “The Vocation of Saint Matthew” and “The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew”), Caravaggio matured his style. Bright, happy colors are replaced because he chose to depict Saint Matthew more realistically instead of focusing on creating descriptive naturalism. The way Caravaggio pushed the picture plane and manipulated the light sources from the single window gave the painting three-dimensionality and added drama unparalleled by previous masters. His techniques allow him to create a general feeling of darkness, but with details. Many of Caravaggio's later religious works had a similar theme, but with more shocking elements. In paintings like “Death of the Virgin,” the central religious figures are depicted in controversial ways. In the aforementioned painting, the Virgin Mary was depicted with a swollen belly and bare legs, which was both considered inflammatory and very disrespectful by the Church. It has even been speculated that Caravaggio may have used a deceased prostitute as a model for the Virgin Mary. Likewise, in “Madonna of Loreto”, the apparition of the Virgin appears barefoot with a naked child and two peasants in front of a ruined house. The outcry that followed the unveiling of this painting was inevitable. The Virgin Mary drawn by Caravaggio looked like and could have been any other lower-class woman. Jesus received the same treatment in the “Resurrection” as he stumbled out of his tomb. Most of Caravaggio's biblical scenes were populated by prostitutes, beggars and thieves, no doubt inspired by those whom Caravaggio.