At the turn of the 17th century two artists in Rome created new styles that were to affect the future of painting across Europe. Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio based their art on a return to the study of nature, rejecting the elegant artificiality of their Mannerist predecessors. Both sought a truer expression of the affetti, the passions of the soul, in bold, animated compositions with figures of unprecedented presence and vitality.

Annibale believed that the idealisation of nature was essential to making art and created a new classical style. Caravaggio, meanwhile, introduced a potent naturalism to religious and mythological painting, making the subject matter seem contemporary. Their legacies can be seen in the dynamic compositions, dramatic lighting, vivid use of colour and intense expression of emotion of the Baroque style. Later in this period, the virtuoso use of brushwork became an expressive vehicle in its own right.