Caravaggio: The Complete Works

by Rossella Vodret (Contributor), Caravaggio (Artist)

“Without Caravaggio, Ribera, Vermeer, La Tour and Rembrandt could never have existed ... and the art of Delacroix, Courbet and Manet would have been utterly different.” ―Roberto Longhi Dramatic shifts from foreboding dark to probing light, with minimal gradation in between; a realism that exposes all the flaws and folds of human flesh, eschewing Michelangelo’s idealized bodies; a surgical explication of almost unbearably tense emotion; and the poised depiction of crucial moments at the very lip of their these were among the innovations of Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio. Without them, as the great Italian art writer Roberto Longhi once noted, “Ribera, Vermeer, La Tour and Rembrandt could never have existed ... and the art of Delacroix, Courbet and Manet would have been utterly different.” It was Longhi who rescued Caravaggio’s painting for the 20th century, prior to which it had lain dormant since the painter’s mysterious death in 1610. During Caravaggio’s lifetime, however, his work was enormously influential and controversial. Each of his innovations in some way upset the prevailing tendencies of the day―not least when his insistence on physical realism led him to paint Saint Matthew as a bald peasant with dirty legs (attended upon by an irreverently intimate boy angel). Nonetheless, Caravaggio was never short of commissions or patrons, and left to posterity around 80 masterpieces. This monograph documents his complete paintings in high-quality reproductions. Authored by renowned scholar Rossella Vodret, it is the must-have monograph on the artist. Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio , was born in 1571 and made his debut in 1600 with two public commissions on the theme of Saint Matthew. He soon became notorious for his temper, and killed a young man in 1606; two further contretemps in Malta and Naples are recorded―the latter, in 1609, involving an attempt on his life―and by 1610 he was dead, after a brief but extraordinary career.

Genres: Art, Art History

216 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 2010

Reviews

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this one five stars because (1) Vodret is one of the greatest Caravaggio experts in the world having curated the Inside Caravaggio expo at the Palazzo Réale in Milano in 2018. (2) the painting reproductions are very well done, paper not too glossy, and detailed zooms are great (3) although I was confused by a Caravaggio I saw in Rouen that isn't referenced here, all the essays and the texts for each paintings are great summaries of the stories told by the images and the provenance and history of the paintings themselves. (4)
Finally, I loved the format of having the explanation at the left and the painting on the right and the chronological view of all his works because you see him evolving as an artist. So, in 4 nutshells, that why I gave it a "5"

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. The images weren't always sharp but in fairness the darkness of Caravaggio's works would certainly make reproduction a challenge. The text was too "factual" for me - dates, who commissioned, who owned.... Who cares? I wanted to know more about the works themselves. But still a good overview.

[Hale Andrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great photos, very uneven and sometimes contradictory text.

[El Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

You cooked babe! You cooked!

[Thorlakur · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is in many ways an excellent catalogue, listing all works that can be firmly attributed to Caravaggio and giving detailed analysis on each canvas, including provenance. But, in the light of how much work has gone into this work, it is truly baffling why so little attention was given to the reproduction of works. The printing of this book has been very shoddily done, a sad thing indeed when dealing with one of the greatest painters of all time.

[Mary Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book with nice full-color pictures and detail shots of Caravaggio's work. With each painting there is a little summary of the provenance, as well as a few paragraphs detailing the significance of the work. The writing is kind of bland but not intolerable, definitely worth a look if you're interested in a Caravaggio study.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Caravaggio. This book was awesome.