Caravaggio (1571–1610) was an Italian painter who changed European painting with sharp light in the dark. His saints are people from the street, his scenes as dramatic as a stage. Caravaggio’s works are among our hand-painted Caravaggio reproductions on canvas.
We paint every Caravaggio painting by hand, in oil on canvas, to order and in the size you choose, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting.
Caravaggio paintings in our gallery
Life: from Milan to Rome and beyond
Michelangelo Merisi was born in 1571 in Milan and named after Caravaggio, the town his family came from. He came to Rome as a young painter and around 1600 became famous with the paintings for the Contarelli Chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi. He had a quick temper; in 1606 he killed a man in a brawl and had to flee. He painted in Naples, on Malta and in Sicily, and died in 1610 in Porto Ercole, aged 38.
Style: sharp light and real people
Caravaggio left the background in almost black darkness and aimed the light like a spotlight at faces and hands. This style is called tenebrism. Instead of ideal figures he painted people he met in the streets of Rome, with tired faces and dirty feet. Karel van Mander wrote in 1604 that Caravaggio considered any painting not painted from life a mere trifle.
His most famous works
Caravaggio’s most famous work is The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599–1600) in the Roman church of San Luigi dei Francesi. The Supper at Emmaus hangs in the National Gallery in London, The Entombment of Christ in the Vatican Museums, Saint Jerome in the Galleria Borghese and Narcissus in Palazzo Barberini in Rome. To compare him with other great names, read our overview of the most famous paintings in the world.
Frequently asked questions about Caravaggio
Who was Caravaggio?
An Italian painter (1571–1610), a pioneer of the Baroque, who influenced painters all over Europe with the contrast of light and dark.
What did Caravaggio paint?
Mostly biblical scenes and saints, and as a young man also smaller paintings with a single figure, such as Narcissus and the Penitent Magdalene.
Where are Caravaggio’s originals?
Most are in Rome, in churches and galleries such as San Luigi dei Francesi, the Galleria Borghese and Palazzo Barberini; other works are in the Vatican Museums and the National Gallery in London.
Can I buy a hand-painted reproduction of a Caravaggio painting?
Yes, our online gallery has hand-painted reproductions of Caravaggio paintings on canvas in the size you choose. Before delivery you receive a photograph of the painting for approval, and we send it only once you approve it.
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