Self portrait inspired by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610)

I was asked to research the Artist Michelangelo Merisi,  known as Caravaggio and produce a self portrait inspired by one of his paintings.  After a lot of decision making,  I chose, "David with the head of Goliath" 1610 for my inspiration. From the research, I found  that this was one of the most important artworks he had done. Within the original image, the figure of David has been altered to have Caravaggios head on it. The face  is of Caravaggio when he was younger and the beheaded is also Caravaggios face but a more recent representation The idea was to represent how his youth caused a negative effect on the rest of his life. This could also have been the last painting he ever created before dying at age 38. Throughout his work he uses chiaroscuro to add to the sense of darkness, by using shadow to overpower the figures,  It adds an unpleasant feeling to the image. The use of light highlights the the figures to provide a more three-dimensional shape.

David with the head of Goliath 1610

I really enjoyed replicating this painting,  I would like to do another one over a larger timescale so I can perfect it. I enjoyed the realism and the biblical theme. I also found his life story to be very interesting,  especially his last days where he was waiting on a Pardon to be allowed back into Rome and it was only granted after his death.