Caravaggio, Polidoro Caldara da [key], c.1496–1543, Italian painter. His surname, Caravaggio, came from his birthplace. A student of Raphael, he was responsible for some of the monochrome decorations in the Vatican Stanze as well as for a few of the scenes in the Loggia. After Raphael's death (1520) Polidoro entered upon a career as a decorator of house facades. These chiaroscuro decorations, based on scenes taken from ancient history, survive now mainly through engravings and drawings. Greatly admired in his own time, Polidoro exercised considerable influence on later generations. In 1527 he left Rome, traveling to Naples and Messina. Of his paintings from this period the Christ on the Way to Calvary (Naples) is perhaps the most impressive.
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