Michelangelo Merisi, Il Caravaggio Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, was born in Caravaggio, Lombardy in 1571, and is considered one of the greatest painters in the history of art. His life was very troubled and stormy.
He began his training under the guidance of Simone Peterzano in 1584 and his name began to become famous when he worked at Giuseppe Cesari's workshop in Rome. Read the full biography

Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio, was born in Caravaggio, Lombardy in 1571, and is considered one of the greatest painters in the history of art. His life was very troubled and stormy.
He began his training under the guidance of Simone Peterzano in 1584 and his name began to become famous when he worked at Giuseppe Cesari's workshop in Rome. Here, due to his Lombard naturalistic training, he was commissioned to create garlands for decorative cycles, flowers and fruit, and still lifes. It is a minor genre, which the painter practiced at the beginning and then dedicated himself to history painting. From that period are the works "Boy peeling a fruit" (now lost but known thanks to posthumous copies) and "Boy with a basket of fruit".
After turbulent years, in which he was also accused of murder, Caravaggio was forced to flee and found refuge with the influential Colonna family. During this creative period, he created revolutionary works such as paintings depicting Saint Matthew, the Madonna, the Sacrifice of Isaac, the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, the Amor vincit omnia, the Deposition of Christ and the Death of the Virgin. Above all, the realistic portraits of Saint Matthew, in particular The Vocation and The Martyrdom, aroused great enthusiasm in Rome. The Colonnas commissioned many works from him, including the Madonna del Rosario and the Seven Works of Mercy.
Caravaggio later traveled to Malta and Sicily, where he was commissioned for many works. “The Beheading of Saint John”, the “Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt”, “the Burial of Saint Lucia”, the “Resurrection of Lazarus” and “The Adoration of the Shepherds” are from this period.
Even after receiving papal pardon for his crimes, he was arrested by mistake. His life inspired his work, as we observe in Salome with the head of the Baptist, where he portrayed himself in John. He sought forgiveness from the Maltese through his work, but died on the return journey in 1610.
One of his biographers, Gilles Lambert, stated: "What begins with Caravaggio is very simply modern painting."