Oh Caravaggio

I was reading about 17th century Dutch painters yesterday, and roughly every artist the text mentioned held Caravaggio to be one of their greatest influences. I guess for some reason I didn't realize how much his work has steered the world of painting since his time, i.e. he was pretty much "the man" around Europe back then as far painting goes. I've been a Caravaggio devotee ever since I first saw one of his paintings in my Western art class several years ago. The angelic lights and cryptic darks add extraordinary drama to his works, bringing them to life. Caravaggio only has a handful of paintings, and I was lucky enough to see one last time I was in NYC at the Met, "The Denial of Saint Peter"(the first one out of this set of three I posted). I stood in front of it for about 20 minutes. My Dad's best friend is an art dealer and dedicated fanatic of Caravaggio, I recall him saying he cried at the Louvre in front of a Caravaggio a while back, I believe it.

One of the most memorable stories I heard about Caravaggio was about him painting in his studio one night, and he couldn't concentrate on account of his neighbor making an incessant racket nextdoor. He finally went over to the neighbor's house, killed him, and went right back to work at his studio! During these times in Italy murder was punished with several months in jail, while being gay (as Caravaggio was) was automatically given the death sentence. However, I believe he was protected by his wealthy patrons.

My attempt at a Caravaggio-esque painting from 2007. Sadly unfinished and hiding under my bed...