Caravaggio(1986) Apr 2026

Directed by Derek Jarman, the 1986 film is an inventive, fictionalized biopic of the 17th-century Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The story is told through non-linear flashbacks as the artist lies on his deathbed in exile, reflecting on his tumultuous life of art, brawling, and complex desire. Plot Summary

: The film's central drama involves Caravaggio (played by Nigel Terry) and two models: Ranuccio Thomasoni (Sean Bean), a street fighter, and Lena (Tilda Swinton), Ranuccio’s girlfriend. Caravaggio is drawn into a messy, violent love triangle with both of them. Caravaggio(1986)

: Caravaggio becomes famous for his dramatic use of light and shadow ( chiaroscuro ), often using prostitutes, homeless people, and street brawlers as models for sacred religious figures—a practice that shocks the Vatican. Directed by Derek Jarman, the 1986 film is