Caravaggio and Bernini: Loves and Rivalries in the Age of the Baroque

Like the Renaissance, the Baroque period is characterized by the spirit of competition among great painters, sculptors, and architects. In fact, some of the most memorable works of art associated with this era were conceived as responses to works by earlier exemplary models, such as those of Michelangelo. Caravaggio would style himself as an “anti-Michelangelo” through his emphasis on realism. Similarly, Bernini would create his marble sculpture of David in an implicit competition with Michelangelo’s famous precedent in Florence.

Art historian Aneta Georgievska Shine explores the spirit of admiration and rivalry that shaped the work of these two artists, both in relation to Michelangelo and their own contemporaries such as Giovanni Baglione and Francesco Borromini.

World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1/2 credit*

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