There was great outrage at this painting when it was put on show, no one had painted the death of the Virgin so true to reality before. Up until that time the Virgins death had always been painted as though it was something beautiful the angels were waiting for her soul while the saints sorrowed at her bedside, Mary herself would be dressed in blue and a peaceful look would be on her face. But Caravaggios death of the Virgin was totally different his virgin actually looks dead rather than asleep, it is widely considered among scholars that the figure of the Virgin was taken from life and the lady was a prostitute. In fact it was considered to be too contraversial for the Santa Maria della Scala church it was commisioned for and was rejected by the clergy.
The Death of the Virgin is a good example of chiaroscuro a technique using contrasting types of lighting that Caravaggio pioneered. Below is an image of what would have been considered traditional at the time of Caravaggio, when you see this image it is easy to see why Caravaggio caused such a storm at the time with his painting.

Death of the Virgin
Fra Angelico