Where can you see Caravaggio in Madrid?

At the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: Saint Catherine of Alexandria. At the Museo del Prado: David with the Head of Goliath. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Caravaggio's most famous work in Madrid?

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, of about 1598, at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. The saint kneels on a cushion by the broken spiked wheel of her martyrdom, holding a sword. The model is thought to have been the courtesan Fillide Melandroni.

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?

One painting in the Prado and one in the Thyssen. Caravaggio was an Italian painter, of the Baroque.

Painter, 1571 to 1610

Caravaggio

There is one Caravaggio on each side of the Paseo del Prado: a young David with Goliath's head in the Prado, and a Saint Catherine in a dark gown in the Thyssen.

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

Where to see Caravaggio in Madrid

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

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum1 work

Saint Catherine of Alexandria
about 1598
The saint kneels on a cushion by the broken spiked wheel of her martyrdom, holding a sword. The model is thought to have been the courtesan Fillide Melandroni.

Museo del Prado1 work

David with the Head of Goliath
about 1600
The boy David, crouching, ties up the hair of the giant's severed head. The earliest of his paintings of the subject.

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

One painting in the Prado and one in the Thyssen

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

Caravaggio: common questions

Where can you see Caravaggio in Madrid?: At the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum: Saint Catherine of Alexandria. At the Museo del Prado: David with the Head of Goliath. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Caravaggio's most famous work in Madrid?: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, of about 1598, at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. The saint kneels on a cushion by the broken spiked wheel of her martyrdom, holding a sword. The model is thought to have been the courtesan Fillide Melandroni.
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?: One painting in the Prado and one in the Thyssen. Caravaggio was an Italian painter, of the Baroque.