Where can you see Caravaggio in London?

At the National Gallery: The Supper at Emmaus and Boy bitten by a Lizard. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Caravaggio's most famous work in London?

The Supper at Emmaus, of 1601, at the National Gallery. The moment two disciples realise that the stranger at their table is the risen Christ. One pushes back his chair, the other flings his arms wide, and the innkeeper understands nothing.

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 Supper at Emmaus was painted in Rome in 1601 for the Mattei family. The basket of fruit in it hangs over the edge of the table, about to fall. Caravaggio was an Italian painter, of the Baroque.

Painter, 1571 to 1610

Caravaggio

Caravaggio's great pictures are still in the churches of Rome they were painted for. London has the one that shows best what he could do with a table, a gesture and a shaft of light.

Born: 1571, Milan, Italy
Died: 1610, Porto Ercole, Italy
Movement: Baroque
In London: 2 works in 1 museum

Where to see Caravaggio in London

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

The National Gallery2 works

The Supper at Emmaus
1601
The moment two disciples realise that the stranger at their table is the risen Christ. One pushes back his chair, the other flings his arms wide, and the innkeeper understands nothing.
Boy bitten by a Lizard
about 1594 to 1595
A youth with a rose in his hair jerks back his hand from a bowl of fruit. One of the first pictures he painted in Rome, in his hard early years there.

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 Supper at Emmaus was painted in Rome in 1601 for the Mattei family
The basket of fruit in it hangs over the edge of the table, about to fall

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

Caravaggio: common questions

Where can you see Caravaggio in London?: At the National Gallery: The Supper at Emmaus and Boy bitten by a Lizard. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Caravaggio's most famous work in London?: The Supper at Emmaus, of 1601, at the National Gallery. The moment two disciples realise that the stranger at their table is the risen Christ. One pushes back his chair, the other flings his arms wide, and the innkeeper understands nothing.
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 Supper at Emmaus was painted in Rome in 1601 for the Mattei family. The basket of fruit in it hangs over the edge of the table, about to fall. Caravaggio was an Italian painter, of the Baroque.