Orphaned at age 11, Caravaggio was apprenticed in the same year to the painter Simone Peterzano of Milan. At some time between 1588 and 1592, Caravaggio went to Rome. He lived in the slums, virtually without means, with his violent nature frequently getting him into tough situations. Despite his rough beginnings, Caravaggio’s innovative style of painting directly on canvas without preliminary drawings influenced painters in Italy and Northern Europe. His depiction of religious themes was aimed at the ordinary observer. Caravaggio's common people bear no relation to the grac

eful suppliants popular in much of Counter-Reformation art. They are plain working men, muscular, stubborn, and tenacious. Caravaggio never tried to appeal to the socially or culturally elite. His major contribution to art was his sharp contrasting of dark and light, known as tenebrism, enhancing the features of the subjects found in his paintings. This style influenced Italian artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi.

Gentileschi, known for painting Judith Slaying Holofernes, was one of the first women artists to emerge as a significant persona in Europe. Her paintings incorporated Caravaggio’s tenebrism so much that she became known as one of his followers, a Caravaggisti. The dark background of her Judith Slaying Holofernes contrasted sharply by the bright complexions of the figures makes the painting seem to almost glorify Holofernes death. The dramatic shifts of light are also enhanced by the energetic draperies in the scene. Dutch painting was influenced as well as Italian art by Caravaggio’s work.

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) more commonly known as Rembrandt, was influenced by Caravaggio’s

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