Artist. Said to have almost single-handedly created the Baroque style. Born Michelangelo Merisi, the son of Fermo Merisi, a stone mason, and his second wife, Lucia Aratori. In 1576, a bubonic plague outbreak swept through Milan, killing most of his family and leaving him orphaned at age five. In 1584, he contracted as apprentice with fresco master, Simone Peterzano. He left Milan as early as 1588 for Rome where he did piece work for other artists, but, by 1595, he was selling his own paintings, including the then unusual subject, The Cardsharps about 1594. The Cardsharps is considered his first masterpiece. His work was noticed by Cardinal Francesco del Monte who became his patron, thus his following work had religious themes. His paintings often dealt with suffering, death, and sexual overtones. He was quite prolific, known to work quickly, often completing a painting in less than a month, and for painting with vivid realism, depicting unusual subjects, everyday events, as well as poverty, dirt, and blood with great detail seen in such works as The Musicians in 1595, which was a depiction of musicians rehearsing, and Head of the Medusa, about 1597, which was a bloody depiction of a severed head. In 1597, he was awarded the lucrative commission for decorating the Contarelli Chapel in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, producing St. Matthew and the Angel, The Calling of St. Matthew, and The Martyrdom of St. Matthew. Known for his aggressive and rebellious personality, the number of his appearances in the court records grew. He was said to associate with like-minded young men whose motto was apparently "without hope, without fear," as well as Rome's prostitutes and courtesans. His Martha and Mary Magdalene and the surprisingly graphic Judith Beheading Holofernes (1599) were completed with Biblical figures in contemporary dress, and for whom he used a live models, a method that would bring him fame. He also developed the technique of chiaroscuro, the darkening of shadows to produce stark contrasts of light and dark. From about 1600 to 1606, he was possibly the most famous painter in Rome. About 1601, he moved into the palace of Girolamo Cardinal Mattei, executing several commissions including the 1601 Crucifixion of St. Peter. He painted The Entombment of Christ in 1604 for the Oratorian church of Santa Maria in Vallicella in Rome. In 1605 he completed The Madonna of Loreto for the Cavalletti Chapel in the Church of Sant'Agostino. He finished The Madonna of the Palafrenieri in 1606, but a month later, it was removed from view because it was considered offensive by church powers. Later that year, his The Death of the Virgin suffered similar censorship. In 1606, he found himself in a duel with a local pimp with whom he'd had a longstanding enmity, killing him. The artist fled Rome, was convicted of murder in absentia, and a price was placed on his head. He secluded himself in Colonna painting, David with the Head of Goliath. He then traveled to Naples where he produced The Seven Acts of Mercy. He proceeded to Malta, where he was planning to join the Knights Hospitaller, which would include an automatic pardon for crimes committed. There, he painted the Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt with His Pageboy. The grand master of the order then petitioned the Roman Catholic Pope for permission to make the artist a Knight. When it was granted, he painted The Beheading of St. John, for the order's oratory. His redemption ended when he argued with, and wounded, a senior knight in 1608 and fled Malta. He spent the rest of his life on the run from law enforcement, but managed to paint an altarpiece, The Burial of St. Lucy in 1609 for the Basilica di Santa Lucia al Sepolcro in Syracuse, and the Adoration of the Shepherds in 1609. He was attacked in 1609 outside a Neapolitan tavern, probably by the knight he had assaulted in Malta, and his face was seriously wounded. He was considered close to death for several months. His last two paintings The Denial of Peter and The Martyrdom of St. Ursula were produced in 1610 during his convalescence. Upon recovery, and in hopes of a pardon from the Pope, he sailed for Rome. He arrived at Porto Ercole and died suddenly a few days later at age 38.