The dramatic events of the troubled life of Caravaggio, one of the most formidable painters in the history of art of all time, are retraced in this volume, updated in light of the latest discoveries, and published on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of his documented birth in Milan in 1571. Examined here are the most significant circumstances that shattered, in just 14 years, the brief course of the great Lombard genius’ professional life: from his arrival in Rome in 1596 to his tragic and still mysterious death in Porto Ercole in 1610. A compelling story that exerts an irresistible attraction, perhaps equal to that emanating from the artist’s masterpieces, in which his innermost essence shines through.

His exceptional works, characterised by ingenious intuitions and a revolutionary way of painting, are here rigorously analysed, for the first time on a large scale, not only from a historical and stylistic point of view but also from a technical- executive one. A methodology that in recent years has become one of the essential components for a full understanding of the Caravaggio phenomenon. It is for this reason that the historical-artistic files of the autograph works are flanked by specific technical-diagnostic notes that complete and integrate the reading of his extraordinary paintings.