Caravaggio is known as the pioneer of the Chiaroscuro technique, where the painter juxtaposes a dark background against a light but shadowy foreground. The overall effect is that of mystery, shadow and sometimes, a sense of fear―much like a shadowy figure in a dark alley. Many biographers attribute Caravaggio’s shadowy style to his dark and troubled psyche. However, chiaroscuro is used to create an illusion of three-dimensional modeling in a two dimensional painting rather than to create a dark and foreboding image. In reality, Caravaggio most likely used the chiaroscuro technique to create realism and depth, and his shadowy style is not a product of a dark and troubled mind.
It is true that Caravaggio’s personality was not all sunshine and rainbows. Caravaggio was known for a fiery personality and he initiated many fights, including at least one where his opponent was killed. He also suffered the loss of his parents when he was only thirteen years old; an event that most likely affected him greatly. To compound his issues, Caravaggio was exiled from Milan, Rome and Malta and he would likely have been beheaded if someone found him in the cities. Near the end of his life, Caravaggio’s paintings show beheadings and other grisly violence, including one in which a severed head is his self portrait. His mortality and possible fate were common themes in the few years before Caravaggio died and they inspired the increase in violence in his paintings.
However, there is more evidence that Caravaggio was merely showing off when he used chiaroscuro. It is well documented that Caravaggio thought very highly of himself. He would paint unimportant objects in great detail―possibly just to show how great of an artist he was―and sometimes make the subject of the painting very sparsely detailed and less realistic. For this reason, Caravaggio would have wanted to create very realistic paintings to display his skill and ingenuity.
Additionally, when the people in Caravaggio’s paintings are studied, it is apparent that they are not meant to be sinister and dark. Even in the painting Cardsharps which depicts a poker game in which a youth is obviously cheating, the look on the boys face is one of childlike innocence and peace. If Caravaggio’s paintings were really meant to be dark and shadowy, the faces of his subjects would also convey villainy and shadow.
Even if Caravaggio’s dark style was intended to convey fear rather than just a sense of depth and dimension, it is possible for an individual to paint a certain way even if his or her past experiences, personality and other characteristics do not match. For example, Vincent Van Gogh was a person with a dark and troubled psyche and he was reputed to be somewhat insane. However, he painted a series of sunflowers that portray nothing but happiness. Contrastingly, Caravaggio could have been a generally happy (if somewhat unconventional and aggressive) person even though he painted shadowy paintings. It is true that artists paint what they feel, but it is possible for them to paint in a way that one would think was uncharacteristic of them.
