Michelangelo Merisi known as Caravaggio was born on 29 September 1571 in Milan from Fermo Merisi and Lucia Aratori; names that then inspired Manzoni for the drafting of I promise sposi. Due to the plague that rages in Lombardy, the artist and his family move to the town of Caravaggio where little Michelangelo spends his childhood. At thirteen his mother sent him to the shop Simone Peterzano, Mannerist painter and pupil of Tiziano Vecellio, where he remained for a few years. After the death of his mother, the artist decides to move outside the region.
According to various historical sources, he first goes to Venezia where he learns the art of Giorgione and Titian and then arrives in Rome in 1597. In the capital, where he remained until July 1607, Caravaggio lived a period full of creativity that inspired him for the creation of extraordinary works, still considered today among the masterpieces of painting of all time. He died in Porto Ercole, in Tuscany, in 1610.
Happy birthday Caravaggio!
For some years now, Caravaggio's birthday has been celebrated on 29 September. Also this year the anniversary will be celebrated by Luca Frigerio, journalist and writer, author of the book Caravaggio. The light and the darkness (And again). Through the 'reading' of some sacred-themed masterpieces, Frigerio will retrace the fundamental stages in the life of the great painter. The meeting will be held in Milan in the church of St. John the Evangelist (via Pavoni, 10) just today Thursday 29 September, at 20.45 pm, with free admission.
On his canvases the people of the people
He loves to paint observing the true nature of light and shadow. The contrasts of color shape gestures and attitudes, underlining the drama of reality. In his works Caravaggio represents human states in all their forms, both physical and mental through a brilliant contrast of light and shadow able to enhance the drama of the scene. One of the salient factors of his artistic production in fact is the representation of the people of the people.
The protagonists of his paintings are often the poor, the prostitutes who give body and face to saints and Madonnas. A choice that, for the time, aroused much sensation and that caused a lot of controversy. But the greatness of the art of Michelangelo Merisi it is just that: the incredible lighting effects and the strong expressiveness of his characters. A true genius of the Baroque art of the time who delivered immortal works to history.
(Photo Commons Wikimedia - Public Domain / archivi italiani.it)
