1000 Museums

Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, commonly referred to as Caravaggio, was born in Milan on September 29th, 1571. After receiving training in Milan during his early years, Caravaggio arrived in Rome in 1592 and was active in Naples, Sicily, and Malta throughout his career. Caravaggio was unlike his Renaissance peers in that he painted from live models rather than ancient Roman sculpture. This revolutionary act broke down the barrier between painting and viewer, allowing the subject matter to reflect typical everyday scenes rather than a feasible painted fiction.