Giovanni Battista Caracciolo (also called Battistello) (1578-1635) was an Italian artist and important Neapolitan follower of Caravaggio. Caracciolo was born in Naples. His initial training was with Francesco Imparato. Caravaggio arrived there in late 1606 after killing a man in a brawl in Rome. His stay in the city lasted only about eight months, with another brief visit in 1609/1610, yet his impact on artistic life there was profound.

Battistello, only a few years younger than Caravaggio, was among the first there to adopt the startling new style with its sombre palette, dramatic tenebrism*, and sculptural figures in a shallow picture plane defined by light rather than by perspective. Among the Neapolitan Caravaggisti were Giusepp...