The Dark Genius

1. The dark genius of Caravaggio

Caravaggio , was the hyperactive, brilliant Baroque-era Milanese master whose lover was a prostitute and whose
passionate nature led him to murder (he received a papal pardon—three days after his death). More than four
centuries later, all that is almost incidental.

His intensely emotional realism and dramatic use of lighting had a formative influence on the Baroque school of
painting. It can be seen directly or indirectly in the work of Rubens , Jusepe de Ribera , Bernini , and Rembrandt

Died 18 July 1610 (aged 38)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio