The Shadowed Genius: Caravaggio and the Dawn of Baroque Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, a name synonymous with drama, darkness, and revolutionary technique, remains one of the most compelling figures in art history. Born in Milan in 1571 to a family of modest means – his father was a notary – Caravaggio’s early life offers little insight into the man who would profoundly alter the course of painting. He apprenticed as a draper’s assistant, a seemingly unremarkable beginning for an artist destined to become a legend. It wasn't until he began working as a painter in Rome around 1592 that hi…