Was hell-raising Baroque artist Caravaggio killed by his own paintings?

Italian painter Caravaggio died in 1610 of suspected syphilis

In life he was known for his brawling and hard drinking while his death has been shrouded in mystery.

But, 400 years on, the remains of Italian Renaissance master Caravaggio have been found and may unlock the secret, scientists say.

Caravaggio, or Michelangelo Merisi, went on the run in 1606 after being sentenced to death by Pope Paul V for murder. Four years later he was dead at 39.



Theories range from syphilis to sunstroke or even foul play. His final resting place was never recorded and he was thought to have been buried in an unmarked grave.

But now it looks as though he may have been killed by his own paintings... from lead poisoning.



Scientists today said they believe they have found Caravaggio's remains.

Last year a collection of bones was found at Caravaggio's last-known haunt of Porto Ercole, on the coast north of Rome, buried below a church.

In 1610 the area was controlled by the Spanish and there was no record of his burial, with historians saying this was to prevent anyone from staking a claim on Caravaggio's priceless works of art.

These bones were exhumed and a series of carbon dating and DNA tests were carried out on them with comparisons being made to the DNA of Caravaggio's known descendants.

Scientists took samples from people traced through his relatives and who had the surname Merisi as part of their 18-month long CSI-style investigation at the Universities of Bologna and Ravenna.

The bones recovered included parts from a skull, jaw pieces, a femur and a fragment of spine and they were put on show in a glass container at a ceremony in Ravenna University today.

Professor Giorgio Gruppioni, who led the investigation, said the team had focused primarily on a set of remains called 'number five' and that they were '85 per cent certain they were of Caravaggio.'

They had used a 1629 document recovered from archives at Porto Ercole signed by Bishop Scipione Tancredi which had described how the remains of several people had been buried in the crypt below the church at Porto Ercole.

He added that DNA was taken from the remains of Caravaggio's uncle and brother - both priests - and used for the research and compared to present day descendants.

Professor Gruppioni said: 'Using the information we had to hand, including age, build and height we found elements that would suggest the remains are 85 per cent certain those of Caravaggio.

'Another indicator was the high level of lead in the bones, as it is known the oil paints Caravaggio used contained high amounts of lead and this may have even contributed to his death.

'Lead posioning induces aggressive and violent behaviour which were well known traits of Caravaggio and methods we used were very similar to ones used by detectives solving crimes."



Caravaggio pioneered the Baroque painting technique known as chiaroscuro, in which light and shadow are sharply contrasted and the discovery of his remains comes just days after a six month exhibition marking his death ended in Rome.

He painted more than 80 works in his brief life and many of them are of a religious nature featuring violent struggles, grotesque decapitations, torture and death.