Caravaggio

I don't know if it was his stark use of lighting, his edgy methods, or his hot-headed reputation, but ever since I first learned about the Baroque period in my grade ten art class, Caravaggio has always been one of my favourite artists. I just love his raw and powerful style almost as much as the fascinating stories that paint a vivid picture about this talented and terrible man.

For instance, did you know that when Caravaggio was commissioned to paint Death of the Virgin, he had one of his prostitute pals pose as the virgin for him?

Scandalous!

He also didn't paint the beautiful image of Mary that the church was anticipating. (Y'know, Mary rising up to heaven, surrounded by a glowing halo of white light n' all that.) Nope. Instead, he chose to paint the ugly reality. There Mary lies, lifeless, bloated, and with dirty feet. As for her mourners, if you look closely you can see that they wear dirty clothes and one even exposes his own dirty feet at her death bed. Needless to say, the painting shocked and angered the church.

And boy, I ate it up! This is art history at it's best!

(Okay, then again, maybe that's just me.... I've always been a total art history nerd. Who else would spot a familiar painting in the distance, rush down a long corridor ahead of her poor new unsuspecting husband, and when he finally catches up, immediately starts reciting all her tenth grade knowledge about the story behind the painting and the artist's colourful history. Ha ha. Geek! Geek!)

Another little nifty Caravaggio fact is that he was also known to include his own image in a number of paintings. The best example is found in David with the Head of Goliath. Here, David wears the face of Caravaggio as a boy, while Goliath is a self-portrait of Caravaggio as a man. Cool, huh?

A man always on the run, Caravaggio was exiled from countless cities all over Europe for his horrible behaviour. Of course, to say he had a temper would be an understatement. The history books say that Caravaggio was known to break into violent tantrums, such as throwing hot soup in a waiter's face or once killing a man over a tennis match.

I know what you're thinking, and I would have to agree -- Caravaggio sounds like the biggest dickhead ever! And yet I've always found myself absolutely captivated by him. So, you can see why I found the following article of interest...

Caravaggio's bones matched using DNA

Last Updated: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 | 4:57 PM ET Comments1Recommended11

CBC News

A copy of a portrait of baroque master Caravaggio is seen in a laboratory in Ravenna in northern Italy on Jan. 22. (Tony Gentile/Reuters)Italian researchers say they have confirmed with 85 per cent certainty that bones found in the Tuscan beach town of Porto Ercole belong to the artist Caravaggio.

Anthropologists in Ravenna compared bones found in the town with descendants of Caravaggio's family. They also carbon dated the bones.

"There can't be the scientific certainty because when one works on ancient DNA, it is degraded," said Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist on the research team. "But only in one set of bones did we find all the elements necessary for it to be Caravaggio's — age, period in which he died, gender, height."

The bones in question — part of a skull, two jaw pieces and a femur — were displayed in Ravenna Wednesday.

But the cause of Caravaggio's death in 1610 may never be known.

The artist, who had a reputation for bar brawls and encounters with prostitutes, had recently landed in the town when he collapsed on the beach at age 39.

The research team believes he may have died from sunstroke while weakened by syphilis and other ailments. However, it is not possible to confirm the diagnosis, because sunstroke leaves no traces in the bones.

A journalist walks in front of Caravaggio's Judith Beheading Holofernes at a Rome exhibition highlighting the artist's work on Feb. 19. (Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press)The bones recovered by the team belonged to a man who stood about 170 centimetres and who was between 38 and 40 years of age around 1610.

The DNA in the bones was compared with the DNA of men with the surname Merisi or Merisio who currently live near the northern Italian town where Caravaggio was born in 1571. The artist himself, whose given name was Michelangelo Merisi, had no children, so there are no direct descendants.

Italy is celebrating the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio, who is known for his vivid use of light and his occasional gory choice of subject matter.

His noted works include Bacchus, The David with the Head of Goliath, Judith beheading Holofernes, The Cardsharps and Supper at Emmaus.