Caravaggio paints children. Caravaggio paints fruit.
Caravaggio paints himself arriving in Rome, naked, looking around. He lies on the ground for a while, gets up and looks around, shouts and coughs, finds someone, asks where he can go to paint.
Caravaggio paints himself walking to the gallery every day. He walks into the gallery, says "good morning" and goes to his corner. He is paid to copy famous paintings so the copies can be sold. He walks into the gallery and goes to his corner. He faces the canvas and closes his eyes. He thinks about his life getting smaller and smaller. Sometimes the monsignor walks over to his corner and Caravaggio quickly copies the paintings he is supposed to. He goes to his corner. He paints fruits and flowers.
Caravaggio paints himself being given money to paint things he does not want to paint. At night, he returns to the gallery and paints things he does want to paint. When he has a day off, he sells his paintings in the street. He looks around.
Caravaggio paints himself alone at the gallery, looking around, pouring paint out of a window onto the heads of policemen below, saying “scum” to himself.
Caravaggio paints himself getting to the gallery in the morning. He does what he is told. He looks around. He paints quietly when the monsignor is near. The monsignor tells him to paint more. He paints more. His heart becomes a bergamot. He thinks about painting a bergamot. His heart is being peeled by a child. He looks around. He thinks about black moths emerging from his pockets, trying to fly. He paints hungry lizards hiding in bowls of fruit.
Caravaggio paints himself painting, getting bored, painting over it, getting bored, painting over it.
Caravaggio paints himself working every day for a fortnight and then being paid. He takes his money and leaves the gallery. He goes and drinks wine and finds people to fight. If he has to paint himself killing someone he will.
Caravaggio paints himself waking up, lying on the ground, getting up, looking around, naked. The monsignor has given him a slave. When Caravaggio is naked, his slave carries his sword and some paintings to sell.
Caravaggio paints a man making a joke about Caravaggio’s footwear while looking into the eyes of the woman Caravaggio is with. Caravaggio cuts holes in the man’s cloak, pushes over a table and runs away.
Caravaggio paints himself being given nothing but green food by the monsignor for one month. He paints himself eating nothing but green food for one month. He paints himself slitting the monsignor’s throat. He calls the monsignor ‘Mr Salad’ very quietly. He paints himself putting a pitchfork through the monsignor’s neck and screaming in his face. He goes to the gallery and paints flowers and fruit and eventually he can leave.
Caravaggio paints a young boy peeling fruit. He paints people dying and being killed or tortured or beheaded. He does this until he is the Pope’s favourite artist. He drinks wine and paints himself painting himself slitting the Pope’s throat.
Caravaggio paints himself throwing a plate of asparagus at the head of the waiter who is walking away from his table.
Caravaggio paints himself slapping his own face, saying "I work in a factory, I work in a factory, I am going to die." He punches himself and says "wait, what am I doing?" Caravaggio looks around and smashes his hand through a plate covered with green leaves that has been left there for him to eat.
Caravaggio paints himself painting children. He paints himself carrying a sword beneath his shirt. He drinks wine. He paints himself having sex with his slave. He paints flowers. He paints himself playing tennis and losing and stabbing someone through the heart and he paints that person dying slowly.
Caravaggio paints himself never preparing to paint, crying, quietly saying “my life still doesn’t exist”, and then painting children and flowers and fruit. He paints over the same painting again and again until it is time to go home until it is time to come back.
Caravaggio paints himself falling sideways off a stool, lying on the ground, standing up, looking around, being told he cannot buy any more wine, being asked to leave, a guard grabbing his arm, Caravaggio slamming a fork through the guard’s cheek, the guard screaming, Caravaggio screaming and running, his slave screaming and running.
Caravaggio paints himself working solidly for a fortnight and then drinking wine and playing tennis until he runs out of money. If he has to paint himself killing someone he will. Caravaggio paints his slave carrying his racquet. Caravaggio walks from place to place and screams at his slave for two months.
Caravaggio paints himself returning to the gallery. The monsignor is there. Caravaggio is tired. He paints himself never preparing to paint. He paints the monsignor walking slowly around the room. He paints himself looking around and then painting children and flowers and fruit until it is time to go until it is time to come back.
