Caravaggio (1571–1610), one of the most famous and influential painters of the European Baroque, attracted great attention during his lifetime with innovative, lifelike representations characterized by dramatic light and shadow. Sybille Ebert-Schifferer, an excellent connoisseur of Caravaggio's work, convincingly re-examines the clichéd biography of this unconventional artist and seeks to understand it in the context of his time.

Caravaggio's paintings continue to impress today with their psychological authenticity and bold closeness to nature. This closeness to nature was already asserted by Caravaggio himself as a form of market-oriented self-fashioning, setting the stage for his later, often overly one-sided reception. Sybille Ebert-Schifferer masterfully penetrates the layers of clichés that have accumulated over the centuries and, with critical caution, crafts a compelling image of the artist.