Despite a short life marred by brawls, arrests and even murder, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, better known simply as ...

"In the painting, Caravaggio links the killer and victim by portraying David as compassionate, even loving, in the way he gazes at the severed head of Goliath," the tour guide says. "And he made ...

What makes it striking is its autobiographical undertone; Goliath’s severed head bears an uncanny resemblance to Caravaggio’s own, while David mirrors his younger visage. “The young ...