Young Raphael had must have had a lucky star above him at birth. His father was an artist so Raphael's obvious talent was nurtured since childhood until Giovanni di Santi realized that there was nothing else he could offer to his prodigy son. He was also growing up and developing his talents during the time of two other Renaissance titans, Leonardo and Michelangelo. Being 30 years younger than ...

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio lived very turbulent 39 years, traveling between Tuscany, Rome, Naples, Sicily and Malta, creating masterpieces while still having time for brawls, drinking, and fighting. During one of those unfortunate escapades, Caravaggio unintentionally killed a man and, to avoid punishment, had to flee to Naples and then sail even further away - to the island of Malta.
His life as well as his art was full of chiaroscuro, artistic technique combining high contrasts of dark and light. Caravaggio arrived to Malta, the headquarters of the Knights of the Order of St John, in 1607 and was immediately taken under the wing by Grand Master Alof De Wignacourt. De Wignacourt gave Caravaggio several important commissions and even inducted him as a knight of the order, impressed by his artistic talent. Another fight which caused an injury to a high-ranking knight put Caravaggio behind bars, but not for very long...Follow