Question: This essay assignment will focus specifically on the relationship of the artist's life to his/her creations during the Baroque Period.

Write a (minimum) two page essay discussing how the personal trials and tribulations of Baroque artists Artemisia Gentileschi and Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) informed their art. This essay must be written in your own words; plagiarism will result in a zero.

You will conduct independent research regarding the biographies of these two famous-but troubled- artists. Uncover and discuss the controversies associated with them, and relate how their individual personal trials may have informed and impacted their professional paintings. Cite specific paintings to illustrate these connections. Include images of works discussed, along with titles and dates. Thoroughly discuss a minimum of 2 paintings per artist. Select the strongest and best correlating imagery to support your claims. Not all paintings are necessarily the best examples- take the time to dig into the artists' works (especially in the case of Caravaggio).

One page per artist is sufficient.

You will embed images at the conclusion of your paper, along with their titles and dates. Images do not count toward the paper length.

Use reputable sites such as museum websites and art encyclopedias.I've included links to museums under "Websites" in our menu (see left). Wikipedia is not recommended. Blogs and sites of lesser professional reputation are not reliable sources for accurate information. Cite your sources at the conclusion of the paper.

I am interested in how YOU perceive and construct the links between these artists' difficult life circumstances and the imagery within their art- not what someone else on a website thinks. Don't worry about being "right" or "wrong"- as long as you support your ideas with "evidence" from the works themselves, you're fine. In a way, you will be psycho-analyzing their works.