It's his version of David. He used this painting to give as his pardon, but ended up dying before it was received. Instead of David holding Goliath's head, he's painted himself as goliath. He is the monster and is offering himself through this painting. I think it's very clever.
Caravaggio's paintings are all dark. You can recognize his style pretty easily. It's as if the figures are coming out of the darkness. He painted people that other famous painters didn't. He was a poor man and so he would use the peasants off the streets. His models were just regular people. Probably his most famous painting is The Calling of St. Matthew
Here Jesus is completely in the dark, you wouldn't even know it's him except for the slight halo you see above his head. His finger is lit and draws your eye straight to Matthew. The light coming in also gives a diagonal that the hand follows. They're in this dark alley or somewhere. It's not some grand place and grand painting, but it's very powerful.
The expressions that Caravaggio uses are great too. The people in his paintings actually look sorrowful if that's what he meant. Here you can see it in his Entombment
I get a certain feeling whenever I see these paintings. I think it's from watching the film, but they are way more powerful when I see them. Caravaggio always went a step further with his paintings. In Doubting Thomas Caravaggio shows the actual finger of Thomas in the flesh. He chooses to really make a statement when he paints something. The expressions on all the faces are so detailed with the wrinkles and everything.
Unfortunately, Caravaggio died because of his mistakes, but he made a collection of great paintings and is still one famous artist.
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