Caravaggio's Extremely Chaotic Life of Crime 

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"Time to chat about a weird little man again"- Me, about to ensnare a stranger in a talk about my cat again

Aside from every obvious bad thing he did, I'm very upset about the amount of artichokes wasted. Those things are pricey.

I’m just surprised he managed to find a rich person to latch on to EVERYWHERE he went

In my art history class, we spent half of the class period talking about how crazy this dude was, barely even about his art

Kaz Rowe you have GOT to stop putting out so many thoughtfully well written and creative videos that CLEARLY take so much time and effort and EXTREME talent to produce. It's getting too much for us.

"The artichoke incident wasn't Caravaggio's first run-in with the law, nor was it the last." No, but it sure was a hearty one.

I'd like to note he wasn't just related to any old nobility - he was related to the Sforza, who you may remember from the Horrible histories song about the Borgias. His extended relatives were just as bad as he was.

A little Italian pronunciation tip for anyone who cares: "Caravaggio" is pronounced more like "Carava-Joe". The "i" in "gia, gio, giu" is silent (unless it's a stressed syllable). It's just there to tell you that the "g" should be read as the "j" in Joe and not as the "g" in guard.

-Achievement unlocked: go a month without killing someone in a duel in the 16th century-

Caravaggio certainly is one of those artists where you're stuck between "Fuck that guy!" and "We have no choice but to stan". There is so much history surrounding him and so, S O much sociopolitical historical context one needs to grasp before starting to judge his character and or his art - and I love that. I really, really do. It's one of the reasons I became an art historian and even though my first love is and will always be religious medieval art, Italian renaissance is a close second. What can I say, I live for religious drama, crazy art and artists and the absolute pettiness and subtext of it all. (And even though I am the first person to latch onto queer themes in art, the Bacchus portrait is *chefs kiss* pure excellence on so many levels, I should write something about it tbh) In conclusion: I love your video and if you're at all interested in the life of Italian Renaissance painters/painterpoets - there are some good books out there and let me tell you, there's so much renaissance gay culture surrounding artists, it's beyond amazing :D

"I wasn't trying to kill him, I was only trying to cut his junk off" is not the defense he thought it was

"now god is punching everyone for party rocking" i know you probably said punishing but i can't resist because it's funnier the way i heard it the first time

I'm surprised he had time to paint in between so many crimes o.o

As an Italian, it's so mind blowing to hear another perspective on the character of Carlo Borromeo, since in Italy is often regarded as a benevolent figure who assisted the poor during the plague and even went to visit sick people in person to give them comfort. I think that our skewed perspective on the guy is probably due to the fact that he has been canonised as a saint by the Catholic church and that he is depicted in an extremely positive light in Alessandro Manzoni's extremely influential novel "I promessi sposi" (The soon-to-be wed)

Pleased to know that working in customer service has always been the same. Having a guest throw a dish at you and pointing a weapon at you is simply peak essential worker experience.

the slowly devolving descriptions of Caravaggio were GOLDEN, really emphasized the whole "what the fuck Caravaggio" theme this video had

I think it is important to remember lead poisoning in regards to madmen of a bygone era. Their actions are their responsibility, same as someone with a head injury or uncontrolled mental illness, but there are external factors that humanize their actions. People with brain injuries have issues with impulse control. I imagine it's similar for lead poisoning. This doesn't make their actions okay but it does make them more of a tragedy

We studied his art briefly at university and somehow we never touched his horrible behavior. Thank you so much for the informational and great video ❤️

"This cockroach of a man..." Say no more 😆

How Caravaggio did not end up murdered or killed in a brawl much earlier is amazing. The guy must have had 'great artist plot armour'.

Oh my god, NO WAY! 1/4 of my thesis is on art of Bacchus in the Italian Renaissance, and you just helped a LOT

“Time to chat about a weird little man again.” Me introducing my dad to my dates.

Art history classes should 1000% include this kind of information.

"At the age of 38, passed away." *Italian teenage boys sigh in unison*

As someone from Malta who recently discovered your channel I was excited to see a name of person linked to my (tiny) country's history for once. 😂 However I am afraid I do have to correct you on one point. Caravaggio was actually in Malta for over a year - he painted several paintings during that time, some of which are still exhibited here. Also fun fact: although The Knights of St John were a military order - they were also a religious order (equivalent to the Knights Templar) which means Caravaggio would have had to take monastic vows of chastity, poverty and obedience to join (not that any of the Knights gave much of a **** about their vows, but that's another story).

Unrelated but I’m just taking a moment to appreciate how kaz always looks so swag

Thank God!! FINALLY, someone is talking about Caravaggio!!! He is UNHINGED. From, an art history grad student.

okay no way, tomorrow, i’m having my 1st test in my Baroque art class and WHEW Caravaggio was messyyy 😭

You remind me of once reading the autobiography of Benevenuto Cellini. Another Renaissance artist with a violent career which involved several murders. This one was a goldsmith, and I didn't have to read far to realize he was seriously insane. At one point, as he was bragging about the skills he was renowned for, he talked about his skill at making foils. A foil is a metallic coating applied to the back of a gem to make it reflect light and make it glitter. Today we mostly see foils mostly on the back of rhinestones. The thing is that, to make a foil back then, he dissolved gold or silver in mercury, painted the mixture on the back of the gem, then placed it in an oven to evaporate the mercury. The side effect of this was that the walls, floor, ceiling, and every surface in the shop became saturated with mercury, which slowly but surely would have turned his brain to mush.

And he was only 38 when he died, I'm kinda curious of what he would've done next lmao btw I think you would love "I Promessi Sposi", an historical novel by Manzoni, I think in English is "The Betrothed", set in Italy in the 17th century^^

it's pretty fictionalized, but I still am always thinking about Derek Jarman's beautiful, wild Caravaggio film

I love historical accounts of men who were objectively terrible as human beings but also SO talented at that ONE thing that nobody could actually ignore them. It's weirdly hilarious. The same energy as how the Unabomber also happened to be extremely good at specific math theories.

hehe there is nothing i love more than a video about a silly little man

he's such a horrible little gremlin and he could do things with light that make me CRY...how do he do that

“Sometimes horrible people make great art” *Ye has entered the chat*

I loved seeing the notification pop up for this video! In my school, we finally got the chance to research and have a project on Caravaggio and holy heck does he have an... interesting life... ! Super excited to watch this vid in full and compare what I know to what you talk about!

I'm starting to suspect that these videos are partially a way for you to flex your incredible costuming skills while LARP and ren fairs are socially irresponsible.

Caravaggio really pulled a crime speedrun. Got basically all of them into a mere 38 years and tumbled ass over tea kettle into the grave.

I really enjoyed this video, but while talking about badly behaved artist men of yore is very entertaining I wanted to suggest maybe to give the women a little more love? Especially in art, many female artists are being "rediscovered", though they were never really "gone". Artemisia Gentileschi being one of the more famous now, but also Jeanne Mammen (who lived through two World Wars, talk about bad luck). Just to reiterate, I appreciate and enjoy all your content!

I'm Italian, and an art enthusiast, so THANK YOU. I modeled for some Caravaggio recreations as an art project of a friend (Caravaggio Reloaded, check it out it's amazing), and I always loved the wild stories that surround his art.

"The one valid crime he commits, he actually gets punished for" Perfect

I'll never forget that the party rock guys second and last album was called 'We're sorry for party rockin'

Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane is a favorite book of mine! Thank you for making a video on it! Makes it easy to share the essentials with my peers. My favorite sequence worth mentioning is that he allegedly left anonymous bawdy poems dissing his contemporaries in the town square. Sounds a lot like twitter or rap beefs to me. Reminds me how little has changed over the course of human history.

Kaz, you perfectly occupy a place in Casual Dark Academia RU-vid and I thank you for your service

utterly delighted by the way you pronounce Caravaggio.

The thing about lead poisoning is interesting in modern times too because acute lead poisoning from the type of pollution in the mid-20th century has been linked to the boom in serial killers in the early second half of the 20th century. Also explains why boomers are so violent and reactionary

Finally someone covers the man I studied for my art history classes THANK YOU KAZ

Ah man, I'm so glad you covered this story! When I first heard about Caravaggio's life of crime, I thought: this would be the perfect historical drama- and of course the aesthetic would mirror his art style, etc... it's like made for an arthouse/crime drama film haha

I wonder if in Italy the stereotype of a good artist as someone who swaggers around causing trouble made people want to act that way

I did a project on this man for an AP class. Oh my goodness he is hands down one of my favorite artists, he messed up a lot but he is entertaining, and his work is engaging and beautiful. He’s definitely a favorite of mine!

"This cockroach of a man" Kaz you're the best

I’ve never heard anyone pronounce “Karel” that way and I have to say, regardless of the fact that it’s horribly wrong, i love it 😂

Very unusual and interesting perspective about Caravaggio’s dark side. However, his light side allowed him to SEE light in such a unique, personal and dramatic way that he stirs strong emotions in us still today, a fraction of what he felt. A genius. Full of unsolved personality problems, causing violence and murder. Still, a producer of eternal masterpieces ✨✨✨

the fits always go so hard

you know a biography video is going to be a wild ride when it opens with an event known as "the artichoke incident"

holy hell it's so perfect for you to be covering this classic piece of work ps - is it me or is that blackwork ....actually... purplework? in any case, it's great. :)

As an art major I am very excited

my art history teacher taught us about caravaggio and everything he got up to in such an iconic way. i’ve never been so invested in a course, and might have shed a tear or two whenever i finally got to see some of his works in florence. litterally screamed when i saw that you had made a video about him!! today is a good day.

"Why was this man so unhinged??" It just sounds like he was the father of all male Karens...

Your fully-loaded wild-eyed look when you briefly speculated on Archbishops being allowed to own private armies... well, it made my world seem brighter, if only for a few moments. More, please.

Can I just say, your style of videos is so unlike any other youtuber I’ve seen! You make history interesting and discuss things I never even knew! Thanks for dedicating yourself to being entertaining while being educating!!!

gives me the vibes of Giacomo Casanova (who I would love to see covered in something like this) ‘Lover’, moved place to place with really high and really low times in life, prison escapes, rags to riches then back to rags all over again

Next on "It's Always Sunny in Renaissance Rome"

" it's hard to say why so many artists of this era we're so temperamentally volatile" she says so innocently as if Jackson Pollock and Toulouse-Lautrec never lived.

It's crazy to think you started posting only a year-two years ago! I can't think of my life without you! (In a non parasocial way) I just love watching and re-watching your videos, they're so entertaining yet calming and your voice is calming yet engaging too! What a perfect balance your channel is for me! Seriously so grateful!

Another "weird little man" to talk about would be Dante Gabriel Rossetti, from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Such a dramatic and interesting story.

Please do a video on Artemisia Gentileschi and how much better her Judith painting is!

wow, can't believe i'm saying this but Tiger King's Joe Exotic is almost like our modern day Carvaggio except Joe doesn't paint, he makes art out of being interesting enough for a netflix documentary.

I’m living for this, I’d love to hear you speak about more artists

A story about a artist with more baggage than a airport.

Once again, amazingly informed and written video Kaz!! Thank you for blessing us today. Also I can’t stop staring at the black work on your blouse. So beautiful!

You made this very entertaining! When I was in art school and took art histories, I was taught heavily on techniques and methods used. Deep examination on the art itself, rather than personalities of artists. I had to do many research papers and one time i chose caravaggio bc i was enamored with chiaroscuro. I was fascinated by this pissed off, talented man

i recently found u and these videos r my new fav, i cant wait for more! (i marathoned all ur videos in 1 sitting💀)

Yay a new video, thanks for the content Kaz

You’re the type of person I would love to just sit with and listen to for hours. You’re very knowledgeable and enthusiastic!

aaah, missed your videos Kaz 💖💖💖 by the way, your outfit is absolutely gorgeous omg

this whole channel is bangers upon bangers and the historical looks are impeccable

Thank you so much for your channel. I continue to share your videos with friends.

This is great. My Art History classes never went over any of this. And Caravaggio was one of my favorite artists. Thank you, Kaz, for filling in "the rest of the story."

Another great video about a silly little man from one of my favorite creators on RU-vid!

Loved this! Studied Caravaggio a little in college, but the focus was on his paintings. This explains a lot.

Omg please this video was all I needed in life

I’m a new follower, your first video I ran into I immediately loved it. So well put together and I’m even learning about new things I wasn’t aware of! I enjoy listening to you! 😊

Very excited to see you get to 100k! Great content so far!

You really make some of the best videos on RU-vid. The topics you cover are absolutely amazing! I love it!

i honestly hated my ren. art history class in uni so much because 80% of the anecdotes were just about how all the artists straight up abused their models and it was so difficult to sit through (it also didn't influence my decision to concentrate in 19th century art at aaaall /sarcasm)

I love Caravaggio's art, artichokes, and all the splendid videos you create--not necessarily in that order. Thank you. Serenity.

I found your channel not so long ago and I've seen all your videos and this is easily one of the best channels in youtube. It's really great 😌

Thanks for making the video I was curious about about this topic and searched it. He's one of the master painters and also supposedly murdered at least one guy so yeah I'm strapped in

This fit is amazing Kaz! I never knew much about Caravaggio so this was a hilariously weird look into this guys life ✨

I could honestly listen to you tell stories all day

omg im so happy im so obbessed w caravaggio and i love your channel!!! im so excited to watch this video!!!!!!

Thanks, this is a really good run through of the artist's career.

I am maltese or from Malta, it is known that the knights allowed caravaggio to join if he painter the main painting of the co-cathedral of malta. which was the beheading of john the baptist which is the only signed painting since the knights forced him to sign it.

NIIICE!! Gaad i adore his paintings. A couple decades ago I read 2 books about C, one was a straightfwd bio, the other was whimsically a woulda-been diary by the artist. Appreciate your raw delivery

Fun fact! The character of Armand in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles is partially based on Cecco. If you need more vampiric homoerotic uhhh vampire books (?) in your life I will always recommend em. The Armand/Daniel saga is 🥲🥰🥸😈😤😣💀 Edit: just a note.... I knew about Artemisia Gentileschi but ngl, Cecco's works are more photoreal and brighter than Caravaggio himself, I like em more! Edit 2: note about lead poisoning (and heavy metals in general)... it very pertinent and not wild speculation at all for it to be brought up with artists. Rome still had lead pipes from Roman times, sure, but lead oxide was *heavily* used to make white, and mixed with rusty reds and browns, and it's not just lead: vermillion (mercury) and cadmium (yellow, orange-red) were also used a lot, and cadmium is absolutely bonkers toxic and minute amounts, let alone in the amounts needed to make pigment for painting. Like the radium girls, it was very common for painters to lick their brushes, and in an era when they had to grind their own pigments, aerosolisation of those heavy metals (and other toxic components) was almost a given. Even this aside, another factor is that because artists apprenticed, they worked with these materials from a young age, and their job when they first started was the mixing of gesso, priming canvas and, of course, grinding/mixing pigments. Lead is also one of those metals that lingers in ossified areas, so if you have it throughout childhood as bones develop? Yeah, expect that to become a problem as you get old or if you go through a period of serious injury, starvation or sickness (like plague). Syphilis is also horrific to the mind and, mixed with a violent, honour-based society where life was short and cheap... well. I am surprised Caravaggio lasted as long as he did, esp in the den of thieves that was Naples back then (it was basically skid row but Italian).

Your outfits and videos are IMMACULATE.

I really enjoyed this video! I had no idea about Caravaggio's problematic™ lifestyle, it's been enlightning!

i love your channel !! it teaches me so much 🥰