Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on Baroque painting. In this volume, numerous large-sized illustrations showcase the artist's oeuvre; authoritative texts illustrate the decisive stages in the artist's life and in the development of his work, explaining their significance in the context of his time and for the following generations of artists.