Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio [1571 –1610], Great Master, was the first representative of the Baroque school of Art.
The maverick artist spent his early years in Caravaggio and apprenticed under Simone Peterzano of Milan, a pupil of Titian. He entered the art scene in Rome in 1592, with a style which emphasized simplicity and realism, and was closer to the Naturalism of Germany than to the stylized formality and grandeur of Roman Mannerism. 
His exaggerated approach to chiaroscuro, termed tenebrism, heightened the emotional intensity of his subjects, and earned him his first major commission with the Counter-Reformation Church. In 1599, Caravaggio contracted to decorate the Contarelli Chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi with two works, the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and Calling of Saint Matthew.
The popularity gained by these first works earned him several prestigious assignments with the Church, although his adherence to reality and propensity to work without drawings were not appreciated by all.
The volatile and tumultuous artist, however, was incessantly embroiled in drama and intrigue, and this resulted in his being constantly on the run from authorities from one place or another. This regular ostracism did not affect his art, and he continued to leave behind a line of successes in his trail – at Naples, Malta and Sicily. His work had great impact upon the young, aspiring artists in each of these places, who in turn popularized the Baroque movement across borders and time.
Ribera, Vermeer, La Tour, Rembrandt, Delacroix, Courbet and Manet are some of the famous artists influenced by Caravaggio.
Caravaggio included himself in several of his paintings, his appearance being as the witness on the far right to the Martyrdom of Saint Ursula.
Caravaggio was undoubtedly a favorite through my surveys of ARTH. I wish though, that in the list of famous artists he inspired, one of my other favorites, the macabre Artemisia Gentileschi, were included.
Perhaps not as prolific or as radical as the others, her art is every bit as powerful as 20th century women's art and very much worth spending some thought over.