The Power of Art: Caravaggio

Caravaggio’s story is appealing to me. I like stories about broken, fragile people; I think that makes them all the more interesting. Maybe I relate to them, maybe they shock me, either way Caravaggio’s story was one of those stories. I enjoy the fact that he was a rebel. He began his artistic journey by not drawing and never drawing. He painted what he saw and only what he saw. He even went as far as using the public as his models instead of actual models. Caravaggio was not a great man that one should aspire to be. He was actually irresponsible with his money, he got into many fights, and he even killed a man. Yet, he understood drama and the cruelty of the human nature. This is shown with his John the Baptiste painting in which he signs his name using John the Baptiste’s painted blood, and has a girl holding a bowl for his head to fall into. His last painting of David and Goliath is like reading into his life. I think that when he painted it he was reflecting on his life and realizing how much of a monster he had been. Gladly, he was able to say his last words before his death.