Caravaggio
Caravaggio is a town in the north of Italy, close to Milan.  It is here that a boy called Michelangelo Merisi grew up after his family escaped from Milan to avoid catching the terrible disease known as 'the plague.' 
Later, the boy would become a famous artist and his name would become Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, with the last two words meaning 'from Caravaggio.' 
Eventually, this long name became a simple, short version:- Caravaggio.   That is to say, just the name of the town.

Michelangelo Merisi was born in Milan in 1571.  His father was called Fermo and his mother was Lucia.  They were well-to-do.

In 1584, Michelangelo Merisi began to train as an artist in the Milan area.  But, he fled to Rome in 1592 after a quarrel.  Very soon, he was painting in a particular style:- fruit and flowers. Below is one of the paintings from his initial period in Rome.

(Painting called:  Fanciullo con canestra di frutta.  This oil painting was produced between 1593 and 1594.  It can be seen in the Galleria Borghese, Rome  Source of image: The Yorck Project, Wikimedia Commons.)

The fruit painted by Caravaggio looks very beautiful, but when you look at it closely, you can see that he has painted it very realistically with blemishes and imperfections.  Just like real fruit!

The next period of Caravaggio's painting was very interesting as he portrays people being dishonest and cheating.  Below is a very famous painting called 'The fortune teller'.  If you look carefully, you will see that the gypsy girl is stealing the ring from the young man's finger whilst pretending to read his palm.

 
Painting called 'La Buona Ventura', 1593-1594.  Visible at Musei Capitolini, Rome.  Source of image:  Wikimedia Commons.)

The painting below dipicts a card game where there is some cheating taking place.  It was painted around 1594 and can be seen in the Kimbell Art Museum, Texas.

 
(Source:  Wikimedia Commons.)

Caravaggio is known for how real the people seem in his paintings.  He used models - that is to say, he painted real people.  Sometimes, you will see the same person in several paintings.  They are moving and doing things.  They are not simply posing or just standing still.  Every painting is telling a story or is part of an event.  If you observe carefully, you will see lots of interesting, little details every time you look. 

Caravaggio painted many Christian paintings too.  Once again, the biblical characters seemed like real people.  They did not seem distant or false.  They seemed just like normal human beings rather than special or superior.

Below is a Christian painting of Mary Magdalene.  She is thoughtful and sorry.  Her jewels are on the floor.  She has just washed her hair.  Her clothes are made from fine materials.  There is a big shadow of darkness in the background so that Mary is not central.  The dramatic use of shadow and light in paintings like the one below is called 'chiaroscuro.' 
In the painting, Mary looks as though someone has just taken a rushed and informal snapshot of her.  She is just natural, sitting in a room with normal light and shade and a normal floor and she does not look as if she is positioned in a false pose. 
The girl seems like any natural girl rather than a famous and important person from the Bible,  and you really do wonder what she is thinking.


(Maddalena Penitente, 1594-1595.  Source: Wikimedia Commons.  Painting visible at Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome.)

Some people criticized Caravaggio for painting saints and holy characters in such a realistic and normal human way.  But many people loved this new style.  Caravaggio earned the nickname 'the most famous painter in Rome.'

After being involved in a fight in 1606, where a man was killed, Caravaggio fled to Naples, then to Malta and then to Sicily.  During this period of travel, he continued to paint.  Probably for this reason, his paintings are to be found all over Europe - in many parts of Italy, in France, Germany, Spain, England, Ireland, Malta, Russia, and Austria.  Some can be seen in America and Venezuela, too.

Eventually, he returned once again to Naples but in 1610 he died, probably from a fever.  He was only thirty-nine years old. 
Today he is remembered as the first great painter of the Baroque style.

Below is a photo of the front and back of an old Italian banknote in Lire.  You can see the portrait of Caravaggio and some of his famous paintings.