Caravaggio

by Catherine Puglisi

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 - 1610) was one of the most innovative painters of his time, and one of the greatest artists of any age. Rescued from neglect, he has become a cultural icon in the late twentieth century, not only for his art but also because of his violent and tragic life.
Catherine Puglisi's highly praised monograph, now available for the first time in paperback, supersedes all previous studies of the artist. Making full use of new research and dramatic recent discoveries, she has produced a precise, clear-headed and comprehensive work of scholarship that also provides a moving biography of the artist and a penetrating analysis of the genius with which he absorbed and transformed the artistic tradition of his time.
All Caravaggio's works are discussed and illustrated in colour, and the book has an appendix of documents, full notes and bibliography, checklist of works and full indexes. This authoritative and beautifully produced monograph is the standard work on Caravaggio.

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Art History, Reference

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're going to get one book on Caravaggio... you could certainly do worse than this edition. Not every book gives you insight like "Dedicating himself to his art, Caravaggio would shut himself up for feverish spurts of activity... but then he would drop work altogether and go about Rome, armed and ready for trouble." This book would probably fall in the category of coffee table book but underpinned with more scholarship than most that I've seen sprinkled with occasional wit. The book perhaps sums up the artist best as, "Devoid of the distancing patina of age, his paintings address the modern viewer with uncommon directness. The very immediacy of religious intensity, violence, and palpable sensuality implicates the viewer, who is tempted to straddle the line between passive observer and voyeur." The high relief of Caravaggio to his contemporaries is best drawn out by the author/editor's selection of Caravaggio paintings with other contemporaries covering the same subject matter. You see Caravaggio's take and you wonder why the rest of them have the volume turned down. Chiaroscuro and tenebrism rocked the art world and the book vividly depicts his creation and evolution of these devices. Along those lines, the Rijksmuseum has an excellent online version of an exhibition comparing Caravaggio and Rembrandt. http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/formats/con... And besides, I can't think of a lot of artists of yore with the chutzpah to (pictorally) sign their name in the spilling blood of a beheaded saint.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mostly looked at the amazing artwork and skimmed little bits here and there.

Might pick up again if I want more details about him or his artwork.

[Ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and complete reproductions. Interesting and previously unexplored scholarship. However, if you are studying Caravaggio in depth, you will want more than Catherine Puglisi’s excellent book. In particular, Howard Hibb’s book,Caravaggio. For meditation purposes on his work, this would be the book to own.
Lately, I have been revisiting Caravaggio with a more “zen” type approach. This has resulted in a renewed appreciation of his work along with a revived curiosity about his life. I’m pretty sure that the proposition has already been offered that Caravaggio was not simply the “bad boy” with the golden hand. I believe it was a golden hand that happened to create the most psychologically and aesthetically arresting examples of Christian (and Catholic) artwork. Perhaps we do the message of his work an injustice with so sharp a divide between what we think we know about Caravaggio and his faith with the product of his talent?

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best book I've found in terms of representation quality. Beautiful prints of Caravaggio's work. The writing is alright.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply one of the best artists ever to live and paint on this earth.

[Lu]

Large history and beautiful photos