Caravaggio artprints
Caravaggio (1571-1610) was an Italian painter and pioneer of the Baroque movement. His personal life was as dramatic as his painting style, which was characterised by his use of chiaroscuro. This drastic contrast of light and dark rendered his subjects, often biblical scenes, full of tension and emotion, translating crucial moments of religious stories into relatable scenes full of seemingly real characters and depicting the subtleties of human experience. This is demonstrated for example, in the intimacy of « Doubting Thomas » , 1601 , where the light source radiates from Jesus’ body to illuminate the apostles’ astounded and weathered faces and « The Conversion of St Paul » , 1600, where this dramatic moment of revelation is emphasised by the intensely lit foreground which pushes back the deep shadows of the background.