The visual expression of violance in Caravaggio's works

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), who has been considered as one of the masters of Baroq Painting, has a tremendous reputation for depicting themes of Catholic or mythological stories with an intense use of light and shadow, horror, violance and murder as if they were frozen moments in time. The aim of this study is to analyze the themes of murder, savagery and his violence tendencies and the religous stories he processes in his works as a personal protest. Firstly violance is analyzed in the period before Christianity and Christian Religion. Then it looks at how art is processed in monotheist religious themes in Classical Period, Christianity, pre Renaissance, Renaissance and Baroq period with Caravaggio and his contemporaries. Later Caravaggio and his art is assessed via his life, personality and artistic style. In continuation of these assessments, the visual analysis of violance is done by artist's works Medusa, Judith Beheading Holofernes, David and Goliath, David with the Head of Goliath, Sacrifice of Isaac and The Beheading of St. John. Inspite the fact that Caravaggio is a counter reformist, by adding himself as the decaputed victim or a vitness to such violant crime to his works, his aggressive personality and tendency to fight increases the possibilty that the choice of subjects he depicts might also be reflecting his inner world, his personality, his fears and especially his anger. This thesis is interpreting his approach to be a personal protest.