Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio (, , ; 28 September 1571 – 18 July 1610) was an Italian painter active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily from the early 1590s to 1610. His paintings combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting.
Carlo Sellitto
Sellitto would have known Caravaggio during the artist's exile in Naples in 1606/1607, but the date indicates that this "Baptist" (illustrated) was painted several years previously - cf. Caravaggio's own treatment of the theme of "John the Baptist".