The enduring fascination with Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio shows no sign of fading, and it is easy to see why. He was not only the most striking Italian painter to emerge since the death of his namesake, Michelangelo Buonarroti, less than a decade before his birth, but also a figure whose reputation as the “damned artist” has long invited speculation about his character, sexuality, politics, and working methods.
Nowadays, he is often imagined as a lone, combative presence, and Caravaggio (2025), the documentary drama directed by David Bickerstaff and Phil Grabsky, does little to challenge that view, even though the narrative it presents is one of near-constant collaboration. Among those guiding the film’s account are the distinguished art historian Helen Langdon; Letizia Treves, head of Christie’s research and expertise department; art historian Fabio Scaletti, offering an Italian perspective; and the artist Stephen Nelson.
The film works well as a useful introduction, with its lengthy sweeps across Caravaggio’s best-known paintings allowing viewers to examine details usually kept at a distance in churches and museums. It is, in that sense, a valuable primer. Even so, we should remain cautious about how much it can really tell us about the man himself.
