The Famous Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio

The famous Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio produced original paintings, criticizing those who imitated other artists creative styles. He even accused the great Giovanni Baglione and Guido Reni for imitating his uniquely developed techniques. Caravaggio was the building block for modern art and followed by many.

Caravaggio was remembered even after his death in 1610. Many became his follower without knowing or working alongside the artist. Artists such as Guercino, Baglione, and Carlo Saraceni mirrored Caravaggio either throughout their lives or briefly. These artists popularized his style. Caravaggio followers were diverse a group, using Caravaggio distinctive art style, tenebrism, and chiaroscuro. Tenebrism is the use of dark shadows to obscure parts of the composition, they did practice the technique to give their artwork contrast, and intensity.

Caravaggio successfully combined his art style with life observations to produce a natural and holy scene. The darkness and realism, as well as other traits in Caravaggio paintings, contributed to his popularity in early Europe. Earlier in his life, Caravaggio was as an assistant in Cavaliere d'Arpino workshop, producing well-made easel paintings and selling them to the public. The paintings were quite different from traditional Roman art, becoming universal with the aid of Caravaggisti, Caravaggio followers.

These followers were interested in Caravaggio's strange depictions of Roman civilization in The Cardsharps, and The Fortune Teller, paintings that were most copied, as well as music-making in The Lute Player. Many artists admired Caravaggio, replicating, or drawing inspiration from his ideas. Caravaggisti valued Caravaggio skills in exciting subjects that has lowly actions. Caravaggio uses meaningful details in paintings such as The Cardsharps to draw the viewers attention. His style is so unique that other artists couldn't possibly copy his designs. Artists such as Boulogne, Manfredi, and Nicholas Tournier, who limited The Cardsharps, Caravaggio most widely known painting, replaced cardplaying with earthy scenes.

Caravaggio employed tenebrism to strengthen the overall meaning of his paintings, the population. Artists such as Pietro Paolini mimicked Caravaggio designs. Caravaggio practiced tenebrism later in his career to form a dramatic and striking effect in his paintings. Many of Caravaggio followers didn't receive formal training by the artist, thus imitated is work. Artists who knew Caravaggio drew inspiration from his design while developing originality.

The Gentileschi, father, and daughter produced more emotional paintings than Caravaggio. They incorporated colors and designs that were missing in Caravaggio paintings. They employed strong details to emphasize local influences in their paintings. Ultimately, their paintings have some of Caravaggio ideas and techniques.

Orazio mimicked Caravaggio representation of St. Francis in Ecstasy with the saint and angle. In Orazio version, the saint lays on the ground after receiving a life-threatening wound. An angle is peering down on the saint, cradling him in her arms. The painting shows a mixture of horror and conviction.

Some Caravaggisti were fond of Caravaggio depictions of religious themes, using strange designs with symbolic meaning. They employed Caravaggio's technique in paintings such as the Doubting Thomas to create depth and meaning. These artists perhaps universalized the Doubting Thomas representations in early Europe.

Jusepe de Ribera made Caravaggesque style known in Spain, where it influenced artists like Diego Velázquez work. Ribera paintings reflected years of refining. It also displayed culture, when he spent time in Rome and Naples, not to mention when he began following Caravaggio style and ideas of using tenebrism and religious subjects. Following Caravaggio death, Ribera Roman landlord allowed Ribera to cut a hole in his roof to brighten his studio, giving his artwork lighting and realism.