Where can you see Caravaggio in Florence?

At the Uffizi Gallery: Bacchus, Medusa and The Sacrifice of Isaac. At the Pitti Palace, Palatine Gallery: Sleeping Cupid. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Caravaggio's most famous work in Florence?

Bacchus, of about 1596 to 1598, at the Uffizi Gallery. A flushed boy in a wreath of vine leaves holds out a glass of wine. The fruit in front of him is already going bad.

When and where was Caravaggio born?

On 29 September 1571, at Milan, Italy. Caravaggio died on 18 July 1610, at Porto Ercole, Italy, aged about 39.

What is Caravaggio known for?

The Medusa was painted on a ceremonial shield, a gift to the Grand Duke. His paintings in the Uffizi hang on the first floor, near the way out. Painted the Sleeping Cupid in Malta in 1608. Caravaggio was an Italian painter, of the Baroque.

Painter, 1571 to 1610

Caravaggio

A cardinal who was the Medici's agent in Rome discovered Caravaggio when he was unknown, and sent his pictures home to Florence as presents. That is why the Uffizi has some of the best of his early work.

Born: 1571, Milan, Italy
Died: 1610, Porto Ercole, Italy
Movement: Baroque
In Florence: 4 works in 2 museums

Where to see Caravaggio in Florence

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

Uffizi Gallery3 works

Bacchus
about 1596 to 1598
A flushed boy in a wreath of vine leaves holds out a glass of wine. The fruit in front of him is already going bad.
Medusa
about 1597 to 1598
The severed head of the Gorgon, still screaming, painted on a round shield of wood. The face is said to be his own.
The Sacrifice of Isaac
about 1603
The angel seizes Abraham's wrist as the knife comes down. The boy's terror is the centre of the picture.

Pitti Palace, Palatine Gallery1 work

Sleeping Cupid
1608
A small child asleep in the dark on his quiver, painted on the island of Malta two years before the painter's death.

The life of Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi was born in Milan in 1571 and took his name from the town his family came from. He arrived in Rome in the early 1590s with nothing, and painted fruit and flowers in other men's workshops.

His three paintings of St Matthew, begun in 1599 for the church of San Luigi dei Francesi, made him famous overnight. He painted saints as ordinary Romans, lit from one side out of deep shadow. In May 1606 he killed a man in a brawl and fled south. He died four years later on his way back to Rome, hoping for a pardon.

What to know

The Medusa was painted on a ceremonial shield, a gift to the Grand Duke
His paintings in the Uffizi hang on the first floor, near the way out
Painted the Sleeping Cupid in Malta in 1608

Born: 29 September 1571, Milan, Italy
Died: 18 July 1610, Porto Ercole, Italy

Caravaggio: common questions

Where can you see Caravaggio in Florence?: At the Uffizi Gallery: Bacchus, Medusa and The Sacrifice of Isaac. At the Pitti Palace, Palatine Gallery: Sleeping Cupid. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Caravaggio's most famous work in Florence?: Bacchus, of about 1596 to 1598, at the Uffizi Gallery. A flushed boy in a wreath of vine leaves holds out a glass of wine. The fruit in front of him is already going bad.
When and where was Caravaggio born?: On 29 September 1571, at Milan, Italy. Caravaggio died on 18 July 1610, at Porto Ercole, Italy, aged about 39.
What is Caravaggio known for?: The Medusa was painted on a ceremonial shield, a gift to the Grand Duke. His paintings in the Uffizi hang on the first floor, near the way out. Painted the Sleeping Cupid in Malta in 1608. Caravaggio was an Italian painter, of the Baroque.