Was Caravaggio killed by his own paints?
Chaos and mystery followed Caravaggio around like the light in his paintings. He was said to have committed murder in his time and, as was discovered centuries after his death, was himself killed in mysterious circumstances. In both instances, the painter was responsible, in a sense. Experts from the arenas of art and science have concluded his messy painting style and overly relaxed approach to wound treatment were to blame for his death from lead poisoning.
Just as a triumphant finale to a life that included murder and constant brawling, he had levels of lead in his body so shockingly high that it likely drove him to insanity before he died in 1610. Precisely 400 years later, scientists discovered bones thought to be his, rigorously carbon-dated them and confirmed there was an implausible amount of lead coursing through them.
Lead poisoning is often referred to as painter’s colic and is assumed to have impacted Francisco Goya and Vincent van Gogh, too. Silvano Vinceti, the researcher who excavated Caravaggio’s bones, told the Guardian a roughshod painting style would have increased his exposure. “Lead poisoning won’t kill you on its own,” he clarified. “We believe he had infected wounds and sunstroke too – but it was one of the causes.”
Lead poisoning famously causes significant personality changes and mood instability, which in Caravaggio’s case were fairly pronounced anyway. He was said to have killed a man following a fight about tennis, then proceeded to hide out in Malta and Naples, finding time while on the run to revolutionise an entire painting style. As revolutionary as his chiaroscuro lighting was, his moods worsened to the point he’d tear up relative masterpieces at even the suggestion of construction criticism.
Caravaggio’s career was cut short when died at 38. Rumours swirled – he died of malaria, he was ravaged by syphilis, murdered by one of his many enemies, or killed himself in a fit of madness. Nothing conclusive ever materialised until a team of archaeologists set out to solve the mystery.
Given Caravaggio’s penchant for picking fights with just about anyone, the most likely end always seemed to be at the hands of someone he’d upset. One of the best surviving summaries of his character was penned in 1604 and declared: “After a fortnight’s work, he will swagger about for a month or two with a sword at his side and a servant following him, from one ball-court to the next, ever ready to engage in a fight or an argument, so that it is most awkward to get along with him.”
But in the end, Caravaggio’s more peaceful pastime killed him. His continual exposure to lead was, however, worsened by his propensity to fight because scientists believed an open wound had compounded his illness further. The toxicity of his lead paints took root in his bones, making him more erratic and driving him to an early death.
