Who was Caravaggio? A Baroque painter, a violent fugitive, and the original master of darkness.

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Before Banksy. Before Basquiat. There was Caravaggio—a violent, brilliant, deeply troubled painter who changed the course of art history with nothing but a paintbrush, a bad attitude, and a body count. If you’ve ever wondered how a murderer became the Catholic Church’s favorite artist, this one’s for you.
Welcome to French People Are Rude, the podcast where we turn history and travel into wild stories and inappropriate laughs. In this episode, we dive deep into the chaotic life and revolutionary art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the original bad boy of the Baroque era.

Born in 1571 and dead by 38, Caravaggio was a painter, fugitive, and full-blown disaster of a human. He painted saints using prostitutes as models, carried a sword, and literally murdered a guy over a tennis match. All while creating some of the most dramatic, shadow-drenched paintings Europe has ever seen.

We break down:

• Why Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro style changed Western art forever

• How this violent, broke, probably high painter became a favorite of cardinals and nobles

• Why he used homeless people and criminals as models—and got banned for it

• How he fled Rome after a murder and still made masterpieces in exile

• His darkest painting, David with the Head of Goliath—a self-portrait as a decapitated corpse

• Where to see Caravaggio paintings in Rome, Paris, Florence, New York, and even Texas

Whether you’re into art history, juicy scandal, or just love a good fall-from-grace story, this episode is your wild ride through sex, violence, and Vatican-funded art.

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