Daniele Crespi

Daniele Crespi was one of the most original painters in Milan in the 1620s. He moved away from the twisting forms of Lombard Mannerism towards an early Baroque style of clear, solid figures, strong lighting and direct emotion, in religious scenes and in sensitive portraits.

He was born in Milan in 1598 and worked there all his short life. His best known picture, St Charles Borromeo at Supper, shows the saint eating a simple meal of bread and water and hangs in the church of Santa Maria della Passione in Milan. He also painted fresco cycles for the charterhouses of Garegnano and Pavia. He died in Milan in 1630, during the plague that swept the city.

His Pietà in the Museo del Prado and his Cain Killing Abel show his serious, concentrated style. Look at the plain backgrounds and the strong fall of light across the bodies.