Saint Jerome Writing by Caravaggio

Caravaggio revolutionized painting in many ways. For one he did something that must have been shocking to the people living in the early 1600's. He decided to represent the subjects he painted in a way that was as true to life as possible, such as in this painting of Saint Jerome with the lines on the forehead, his frail, old body and thin grey hair. This painting is also a beautiful example of the technique called chiaroscuro, where the painter uses light and dark in a way that adds emotional intensity, as well as depth and volume to the scene. Chiaroscuro means 'light-dark' in Italian, and makes the paintings by Caravaggio instantly recognizible.