In this video Letizia Treves, the National Gallery’s curator of Later Italian, Spanish, and French 17th-century paintings, guides the viewer through the mysteries and intrigue of Caravaggio’s work. Caravaggio is, as Treves says, “as well known for his art as he is for his bad behaviour.” Indeed, much of what we understand about Caravaggio has been recovered from criminal archives. His life is widely known as a chaotic series of brawls and swordfights, and his paintings as intense and unsettling, characterized by their extreme use of darkness and light. Treves takes three paintings and analyzes them alongside Caravaggio’s biography to explain the development of his style and its later influence. —Marie Palmer