Painting techniques of the masters
Caravaggio (1596 - 1603)
Michelangelo Merisi, otherwise known as "Caravaggio" after his birthplace, worked extensively in Rome. He was notorious for brawling even at a time when this was commonplace and, this colourful life took a turn when, in 1506, he had to flee to Naples after having murdered a man. Caravaggios' work is re-knowned for it's vivid realism and and use of light and shadow, because of this, his works were bitterly attacked for their lack of idealisation, one of the chief aims of that movement. However, his style influenced many, notably those in the Netherlands including none other than Rembrandt. For many of the conservative critics though his works represented the 'downfall of painting'.
One of Caravaggios' paintings, 'The Supper at Emmaus', is typical of his unidealised portrait of the sitters. Little is known about the way he approached the early stages of his compositions. Sometimes he would drastically re-think his approach on the canvas. His complex and naturalistic representation of the figures in the work suggest he must have made many preliminary studies, however no evidence of this has been found and no drawings have been attributed to him. The only alteration made by the artist in this work is to the inn-keepers profile, this means Caravaggio much have had the whole composition fully realised in his head before starting the painting. Caravaggios' technique was smooth with little in the way of expressive brush marks, leading us to assume he used a blending brush to soften the paint surface combined with a fluid oil medium, possibly linseed oil, to help achieve the effect.