artist of the day--Carravagio.

For those interested in art and by art I mean "real art" you can do worse than to research Caravaggio. I always had an affinity for him as he was very unconventional for his time and very much a rebel against what was going on around him in both his life and his art. Religious art was often stilted and stale and he breathed much life into the genre. He was often criticized for being a naturalist (meaning he painted things realistically and as they really looked.) He was a master of light and chiaroscuro and he rejected the traditional methods of study favored in italy to actually painting live from a model in a very direct fashion without a million prep-studies. He is truly one of the greats and an inspiration to anyone who follows there own path in art.

1572-1610