| Description : Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571‐1610) was an important
Italian painter of the early Baroque period. With his realistic pictorial design, he is regarded ‐ together with Annibale
Carracci ‐ as the overcomer of Mannerism and the founder of Roman Baroque painting. He broke new ground primarily in the
treatment of Christian themes by linking the sacred with the profane. His most important painting innovation was the chiaroscuro,
painting, as a design element of the scenes. The coin designed by Silvia Petrassi on the occasion of his 450th birthday
depicts Mary Magdalene, companion of Jesus and witness of the Resurrection, after the painting The Penitent Magdalene,
created around 1595, today in the Palazzo Doria‐Pamphilj, Rome. Caravaggio's model is thought to be the courtesan Anna
Bianchini, with whom he had a turbulent relationship. At the top is written in a semicircle "SAN MARINO ‐ CARAVAGGIO". On
the top left the year of birth of the painter and the year of issue are indicated with "1571‐2021" and on the right the
"R" the mint mark of the Italian mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome. The initials "SP" of the designer
appear on the left. |
