Few have left their mark on the art world like the renowned Italian painter Caravaggio. As a descendant of the Renaissance, his style gave rise to the Baroque art movement. Caravaggio was further marked by the times, creating a new kind of religious art for the Catholic Church during the Counter-Reformation, when the threat of Protestantism was on the rise.

What set Caravaggio apart from the rest was his unique style of light and shadow. He developed a technique of depicting people under powerful shafts of light with the background engulfed entirely in darkness. This effect—known as “chiaroscuro”—brought the people in his paintings to the viewer’s immediate attention. Combined with his eye for detail and his focus on realism, Caravaggio portrayed human subjects in a vivid and personable light.

Through this technique of contrast and realism, Caravaggio’s paintings established a new form of religious art. In works like Supper at Emmaus, the artist was able to capture a whole range of significant spiritual themes in a single moment. Jesus Christ is shown sitting at a table with his disciples, sharing their meal appearing just as ordinary a person as them. The food at table also demonstrates another of Caravaggio’s most common subjects: still life. He was also capable of producing such subtlety in more secular works like The Musicians and Boy with a Basket of Fruit.

Even with several commissions from the Church, Caravaggio’s works drew controversy for their portrayal of religious icons. His emphasis on imitating nature meant that religious figures like Christ and the Virgin Mary were depicted as more human and less divine. Nonetheless, his works earned both him and the Church a vast new audience.

Sadly, with the passage of time and several disasters, only eighty original Caravaggio paintings have survived to this day. But from the time in which he worked until now, Caravaggio has had a major impact on art and its audience. To paraphrase the opinion of art historian Andre Berne-Joffroy, Caravaggio is the beginning of modern painting itself.

Image Credit: William Cromar on Flickr