Caravaggio’s art style captivates the viewer and makes you feel like you are a part his art. Arguably one of the greatest artists of all time, he’s truly a master of his craft. The six characteristics below will help you further understand and easily identify his beautiful work.
6 Characteristics of Caravaggio’s Art Style
- Average, every day people as models
- Religious art that is attainable
- Strong diagonals
- Light vs dark shadowing
- Natural, earthy tones
- Emotion!
If, you’d like to see the characteristics of Caravaggio’s art style applied to one of his pieces, watch my analysis of The Entombment of Christ, which starts at about 7:16 of this video:
Average, every day people as models
Caravaggio uses average everyday people as models for his works. This was new and different at the time. During the Renaissance period (the period preceding Baroque art and Caravaggio) Raphael, a famous Renaissance artist, would use multiple models to depict the perfect woman. It was also common to use very beautiful models at that time.
(To see how Baraoque and Caravaggio fit within the Western Art Timeline, you can download my timeline here.)
So, Caravaggio completely turns that idea on its head. He uses models that are pulled from the streets who are dirty, sunburned, not wearing shoes, and have receding hairlines. This gives his art a more natural and realistic feel. The viewer can more easily connect with the people in his artwork.
Religious art that is attainable
The second thing Caravaggio does with his art style is he reduces the lofty religious content of the time to a more basic human drama. He takes grand events in The Bible that happened in Christ’s life, and he brings it down to our level. The worshipped characters of The Bible are depicted more as someone you might recognize. In this way, Caravaggio us relate and be a part of his art.
Strong diagonals
The third thing Caravaggio does is create incredibly strong diagonals. Diagonals were an important aspect of Baroque art as they they add energy and dynamism to the art. They also help guide your eye to focal points of the piece. Caravaggio often plays with light to bring out these diagonals that can be unnoticed but certainly felt by the average viewer. Which brings me to the next Caravaggio characteristic.
Light vs dark lighting
The fourth characteristic of Caravaggio’s art style is his use of light versus dark. He is a master manipulator of light. His lighting helps add drama, intensity, and energy to the piece. Similar to his use of diagonals, and they often go hand-in-hand, his lighting draws your attention to focal points of the piece. A lot of his light sources actually come from a single place, meaning it looks more like stage lighting which directs your eyes the center or focus.
Natural, earthy tones
The fifth thing that Caravaggio does in his artwork is use a lot of natural, earthy colors. These include greens, golds, reds, and browns – really similar to Venetian Renaissance. These colors are more attainable and recognizable. Remember Caravaggio is coming off the Renaissance and Mannerism art in which you have a lot of pastel colors that make the art seem otherworldly. Caravaggio uses earth tones that bring the artwork back to our sphere.
Emotion!
The final characteristic of Caravaggio’s art style is that he adds all the feels! He does so through facial expressions and other aspects of his art. Some of the characteristics already mentioned, such as the light vs dark and diagonals, help to add the emotion he wants us to feel.
These six characteristics should help you recognize a Caravaggio piece out of a pile. To help you understand these further, you can watch my video on The Entombment of Christ where I apply these characteristics. His work is absolutely beautiful and should be appreciated on multiple levels.