La Mort de la Vierge

25 June 1599

Contract for the Contarelli Chapel

A contract was signed to decorate the Contarelli family chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi with canvases of scenes from the life of Saint Matthew, for 400 scudi. The commission was presumably arranged through Cardinal del Monte.

1603

Sued for libel by Giovanni Baglione

The painter Giovanni Baglione sued Caravaggio and his followers Orazio Gentileschi and Onorio Longhi over offensive verses about him. Caravaggio spent a month in the Tor di Nona jail before the French ambassador intervened and he was moved to house arrest.

1606

Flight from Rome to the Colonna estates and Naples

His patrons could no longer protect him, and Caravaggio fled first to the Colonna family's estates south of Rome and then to Naples, where Costanza Colonna Sforza kept a palace. Beyond the reach of the Roman authorities, the most famous painter in Rome became the most famous in Naples.

29 May 1606

Kills Ranuccio Tomassoni

In a brawl or a sword duel at Campo Marzio Caravaggio killed — possibly unintentionally — Ranuccio Tomassoni; rumour spoke of a gambling debt over a game of pallacorda, or of jealousy over the courtesan Fillide Melandroni. The artist was sentenced to beheading and an open bounty was decreed: anyone who recognised him could legally carry out the sentence.

1607

Sails for Malta

Unexpectedly, Caravaggio set off for Valletta, the capital of Malta, still seeking a papal pardon. His arrival was facilitated by Fabrizio Sforza Colonna, a Knight of Malta and general of the Order's galleys.

late August 1608

Arrest in Malta and escape from prison

Probably after yet another brawl — this time with an aristocratic knight, who was seriously wounded after the door of a house was battered down — the Knights imprisoned Caravaggio in Valletta, but he managed to escape.