Caravaggio

Episode 21: Caravaggio — The Guy Who Turned the Lights Off (So You’d See Better)

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Who is this artist? Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) was the bar-fight-magnet who jump-started Baroque painting with real people, real fruit (worms and all), and very unreal lighting. He trained in Milan, then rocketed through Rome on the strength of patrons like Cardinal del Monte and chapel-shaking church commissions before an infamous homicide sent him … Read more

Baroque and Loaded: The 1600s Get Dramatic

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Welcome to the 1600s, the century where artists decided that if a painting didn’t have divine light, flying drapery, or a bit of theatrical flair, it simply wasn’t trying hard enough. This was the Baroque era — a time when art went full drama queen, and we loved it. Let’s dim the lights (for mood), cue the … Read more