Caravaggism

Caravaggism refers to the style of painting that was heavily influenced by the Italian Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. His work, characterized by dramatic use of light and shadow known as chiaroscuro, intense emotional realism, and often gritty, unidealized depictions of religious and genre subjects, had a profound impact on painters across Europe.

Following Caravaggio's innovations, many artists adopted his tenebrism, where deep shadows dominate the canvas and a single, strong light source illuminates the scene, creating a powerful sense of drama and volume. This technique highlighted the physicality of figures and the tangible reality of their surroundings. Caravaggesque painters also embraced his naturalism, often using ordinary people as models for saints and biblical figures, imbuing them with a raw, human quality that was revolutionary for the time.

The influence of Caravaggism spread rapidly from Rome to Naples, Spain, the Netherlands, and France. Prominent followers included Artemisia Gentileschi, Bartolomeo Manfredi, and Orazio Gentileschi in Italy. In Spain, artists like Jusepe de Ribera and Francisco de Zurbarán showed strong Caravaggesque tendencies. Dutch painters such as Gerrit van Honthorst and Hendrick ter Brugghen, known as the Utrecht Caravaggisti, brought the style back to the Netherlands. Georges de La Tour in France also adopted and adapted Caravaggio's dramatic lighting. While the intense fashion for Caravaggism eventually waned by the mid-17th century, its emphasis on realism and dramatic illumination left an indelible mark on the history of Western art.