A Dynamic Life

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio lived a life as dramatic as the art he created. With a police record as detailed as his paintings, Caravaggio lived a brief and tumultuous life while creating magnificent artworks that led him to be the most famous painter of his time.  Born in 1571, Michelangelo Merisi grew up east of Milan in the Italian town of Caravaggio, by which he eventually became known. At the age of twelve, Caravaggio moved to Milan where he was an apprentice to Simone Peteranzo, a respected fresco painter, for four years. At the age of twenty-one, Caravaggio left Milan for Rome where he lived among a vast population of artists. Working in the workshops of other artists, and took on small commission projects. He would create paintings in just a few days or weeks with little to no drafting or planning.

During times when he wasn’t painting, Caravaggio would wander the streets of Rome with friends, often getting himself into trouble. Much of what is known about his life comes straight from police records. Frequently in and out of prison, Caravaggio used his skills and connections as an artist to stay out of deep trouble and to alleviate jail time. Caravaggio committed many crimes in his life including carrying a sword throughout the streets, starting brawls, and stoning windows. The climax of Caravaggio’s criminal offenses occurred in May of 1606, when Caravaggio murdered a man. Ranuccio Tomassoni, a long time enemy of Caravaggio, was attacked and killed by a group of eight men on a tennis court in Caravaggio’s neighborhood. After committing the murder, Caravaggio was exiled from Rome and fled to Naples where he continued selling paintings to pay for his travel and lodging expenses. He eventually fled to Malta where he commissioned paintings in exchange for knight membership in order to help him pardon his murder offense.  He remained in Malta, painting until his death in 1610 at the age of 39.