Lead poisoning, most likely from his paints, killed the infamous painter
The mystery of the untimely death of Caravaggio, the talented, violent and controversial Italian renaissance painter, has been solved, the Guardian reports. Recently excavated remains in Tuscany, which are suspected to be the artists’, have extremely high levels of lead in them. Scientists are “85% sure” that they are Caravaggio’s remains and believe that the lead poisoning was one of the causes of his crazy behavior, and his short life (he died aged 38). Caravaggio was infamous for his drunken brawls and his astounding realism in his paintings, which placed him at odds with the Catholic church. “The lead likely came from his paints – he was known to be extremely messy with them,” said Silvano Vinceti, the researcher who announced the findings.