Caravaggio The Art of Realism Author:John Varriano, Michelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio Nominated and Short-listed for the 2005 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing Born Michelangelo Merisi, as an adult he became known by the name of his birthplace, Caravaggio (1571-1610), he was the most revolutionary artist of the Italian Baroque. Consistently emphasizing the humanity of his religious subjects, he established a new ... more »way of painting. The intensity of his chiaroscuro style is matched only by the drama of his life. Outlaw, heretic, murderer, and sensualist were a few of the charges brought against him by his contemporaries. Patrick Hunt s wide-ranging professional and personal scholarship allows him to interpret Caravaggio s complicated religious and classical imagery while anchoring his art in his life.« less