Angelo Caroselli or Carosèlli (11 February 1585 – 8 April 1652) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in his native Rome.

[2] This is demonstrated in the potent naturalism and chiaroscuro that characterise his compositions and his preference for depicting colorful characters of contemporary Rome and scenes of witchcraft and musicians.

[9] In 1615 Caroselli married Maria Turca or Turcha (also erroneously called 'Zurca'), whose father was a Sicilian of Palermo who had lived in Rome for many years.

For that reason the young couple left Rome in 1616, and after spending possibly some months in Piedimonte Matese in the province of Caserta, they settled in Naples.

[16] Filipo and Francesco became his pupils and collaborators, as evidenced by the altarpiece of 1631 representing Pope Gregory I executed for the church of S. Francesca Romana.

Caroselli often depicted card players, musicians, prostitutes and other low life scenes of contemporary Rome.

As the artist did not date his paintings and his work is eclectic, it is not easy to establish a clear chronology of his output both in terms of subject matter and style.

[18] Some art historians see an evolution from an initial naturalistic phase which developed in the 1930s towards a more "classicist" style, characterized by a greater elegance and softness in the brushstroke and a smoothness of the flesh that contrasts with the hard and sharp manner of the earlier works.

[5] His early biographers Passeri and Baldinucci also speak at length of his great skill in copying the ancient masters and in working in different styles at the same time.

Manfredi's interpretation of the singers and musical performers through half- to three-quarter-length figures in cramped, undefined rectangular spaces, imbued with rich coloration and soft chiaroscuro, seems to have left a particular impression on Caroselli.

Caroselli's depictions of singers and musicians, which likely date from his first period in Rome before 1616, appear in turn to have influenced the Dutch painter Dirck van Baburen's explorations of the same subject matter.

Van Baburen's Singing young man (Städel Museum) has many elements in common with Caroselli's Singing man (Kunsthistorisches Museum) in the pose of the singer holding a score, the fanciful costume with a medallion in the hat and the raised open hand, a feature that traditionally has been associated with the Dutch followers of Caravaggio.

[20] As his follower referred to as the Pseudo-Caroselli also often returned to this subject in a style not very unlike that of Caroselli, it has not always been possible to distinguish the work of the two artists in this area.

For instance, the Violinist and Courtesan, an Allegory of Love (Sotheby's New York sale of 31 January 2018 lot 15) has traditionally been attributed to Caroselli but, since it also displays the more physical treatment of similar subjects by Pseudo-Caroselli, it could very well be the work of the latter.

On the opposite side of the table there is a man blindfolded, with long dark hair and beard who is holding coins in his right hand.

The complex iconography of the painting seems to cite from many of the works of Caravaggio such as that of the Cardsharps, the fortune teller in the Capitoline Museums and the Calling of St. Matthew in the Contarelli Chapel in Rome.

The contrast between old woman and the young courtesan placed next to each other represents an allegory of vanitas, i.e. the theme of the merciless march of life towards old age and ultimately death.

[20] Various art historians have posited that Caroselli was linked to the circles of the adepts of the secret sciences of magic, occultism and alchemy.

There are no written documents to support this suggestion but it is clear from his paintings dealing with themes of the occult that he had a fascination with the subject.

This style of representation seems to go back to ways of representing the Virgin in the 16the century and may indicate a rejection by the artist of the emotionality of the Baroque in favour of the Renaissance iconography.