The Artist and the Assassin

by Mark Frutkin

The play of light and shadow defines Mark Frutkin's vibrant narrative based on the life of the seventeenth-century painter known as Caravaggio, whose revolutionary use of the chiaroscuro technique fuelled his dazzling success while his demons led him down the path of exile and, ultimately, assassination.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Art, Italy

216 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2021

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel is a bit of a joyride, with beautiful writing under its service. It’s only every few years that Mark Frutkin’s fine literature makes it to my eyes. Sometimes there’s no reason for things. Sometimes, there are mountains of books, and that’s only just the beginning. Regardless, in The Artist and the Assassin, Frutkin’s portrait of Caravaggio surpassed every expectation I may have had, and I already knew the author to be a small Canadian wonder. Why on Earth did I wait this long?

Caravaggio sits a fair distance from the artists I typically read about, with my preferences running along the magical and colourful journey that has been the 20th century and subsequent decades. Yet this painter of saints and martyrs on demand cuts a fine figure for a work of fiction: he brawls, and quips, and shops his pigments like the best, making a name for himself in circles high and low, playing it debonair in picturesque times. Caravaggio inhabits daytime and nighttime equally; makes friends and foes with equal passion; incidentally, the novel softly tells you the story of chiaroscuro. The man behind the great painter is explored with clever joy in this novel, as are the streets of Rome, Naples, and other locations.

With both the artist and the assassin pulling the perspective this way and that in nimble succession, the aptly titled book felt wonderfully paced. Each character is rendered with a touch of wit; both are goofs in their own way. This is an inspired story, at a perfect length, and it’s well worth your time.

[Adam Ferris · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I am a painter painting his own death. This mirror is so clear it is like an icy pool of water that has not been disturbed in a thousand years. I have painted my own face with as much clarity and honesty as I am able, turning away from none of its ugliness, its horror, the revulsion it prompts. In that clarity, I believe, arises the essence of beauty. I may be a monster, but I have drunk life to the full. I have no regrets."

I have recently enjoyed a number of historical fiction works and seeing as I knew little of Rome in 1600 and even less of the life of Caravaggio, I picked up local author Mark Frutkin's latest book. The Artist and the Assassin tells the story of the painter and one of his subject's for his painting The Calling of St Matthew. From the get-go, the setting was painted vividly and the characters, though flawed and terribly human, were nothing short of fascinating profiles. This book reads like a thriller and also intelligently takes a look at the life and brain of an artistic genius and all the chaos that swirls around him, mostly from his own sordid actions. Does life imitate art or does art imitate life? Frutkin explores these ideas in a time when most realities were truly a matter of life and death. Just like in Caravaggio's paintings, Frutkin sheds light on the darker aspects of the painter and Luca to dramatic and vengeful effect in this tale of The Artist and The Assassin. For fans of historical fiction, art, Italy and adventure, pick up this book and enjoy the ride.

"'Ah, but let me add that I have realized that the change from simple, raw mineral to pigment suggests much more. If a black mineral, for example, can be brought through fire and be reborn as scarlet pigment, then any kind of change is possible in this world: evil can be redeemed, body can become spirit, the divine can come down to earth and be human. This is sacred magic.'"

"'Yes, about perception. If we cannot trust our eyes to reveal the world as it is, then what is real? If our gaze can be manipulated and controlled, is what we see what is actually there, or are we simply seeing those things we already know, and have seen before, and are we missing everything else?'"

"When running away and running to become perfectly balanced, one arrives at a final still point and the world stops."

[Larry McCloskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark is an amazing and underrated amazing writer- and this may be his best work of fiction yet. He is a master who knows his way through the streets of Rome or Naples at a time we moderns would not recognize if not for his guidance. Mark is equally in the mind of the artist and the assassin, so you too have the passion, creation urges, genius and desperation that drives the protagonists. Mark’s unique understanding of the time and place of The Artist and the Assassin is a joy to read and was decades in the making.

[Barbara Sibbald]

I was totally immersed in this fictional telling of Caravaggio's (1571-1610) life, art and pursuit by the assassin Luca. The insight into both men's lives is remarkably astute. We see, through Caravaggio eyes, his play with light, his passion for pigment, his arrangement, just so, of his models, and his obsessive painting, painting, painting. We witness his immense talent but also his repugnant propensity to violence, perhaps informed by his family narrative (an orphan - his mother died when he was 13, his father seven years before that), raging testosterone and the brawls and fighting endemic to Rome at this time. Despite numerous arrests for fighting, his talent pulls him through from one generous patron to another, until finally he kills a gangster from a wealthy family (accidently in Mark's depiction) and the game is afoot. Luca, the hired assassin, lives hand-to-mouth, often hungry and living rough he is crude and uneducated, yet considers his soul and his inevitable fate. And yet, he echoes Caravaggio's obsession with painting in his obsession with getting his man: he is clever as well as patient in his pursuit.

Enroute, we tromp the piazza's of Rome, feeling the city's undertow during the Renaissance: the wealth, the church's power, the poverty and limited lives.

I did wonder about the love interest, a prostitute who, in Mark's telling, Caravaggio adores and even wants to marry. It seemed to me that such a hot-blooded young man would be prone to the curse of jealousy: how is it he "allowed" her to continue to sell her body? Surely Caravaggio could have arranged to "keep" her - he had access to money from his patrons. I wondered, but it is only a small point.

This is a remarkable book and wonderful reading, particularly for those of us who admire Caravaggio's sublime paintings.

[Bethany Pehora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great historical fiction with a fun approach to shifting perspectives between the titular characters.

[Nadine Doolittle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich in language and perfectly executed description. No purple prose. Frutkin immerses the reader in the painter's world in Rome, Naples and Malta, and in the minds of the artist and the assassin. I looked forward to reading it at the end of the day. The world stays with you even when you're not reading, if that makes sense. There is humour as well as humanity in the story of Caravaggio and the man who is tasked with killing him. And the ending is pitch perfect.

The book itself is a work of art with interior sketches, gorgeous paper and cover. It is a keeper. An absorbing story for lovers of historical fiction, the art world or those who love a good thriller.
Highly recommended.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

very immersive, easy reading and a hard to put down historical fiction. One of the few books where I enjoy both POVs as they switch every chapter.

[Veena Gokhale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read some of the earlier work of Mark Frutkin and have always found him "effortlessly erudite," and a crafter of complex, compelling narratives, rendered in exquisite prose. This book does not disappoint on any of these counts. The fact that the protagonist, Caravaggio, is a larger-than-life historical character -- a genius painter -- is, in and of itself, a challenge. Frutkin takes on that challenge by skilfully introducing his story via a focus on a seminal work -- The Calling of Saint Mathew. Thus the reader becomes intimate with the artist's habits, passions and dilemmas and even sympathetic towards him, even though Caravaggio -- ambitious, moody, self-centred, at times violent -- is not inherently a sympathetic character. Alongside, he introduces, Luca, a fictional, professional assassin, and ends up making us feel for him as well! Of course Luca must, at some point, chase and kill Caravaggio!
Through palpable descriptions of the interwoven lives of the protagonist and antagonist, who get equal airtime, the wretchedness of the poor and the indulgence and "high life" of the clergy and aristocracy of the 16th and early 17th century Italy (and beyond), who become Caravaggio's patrons, leaps to life. Indeed the novel is a lesson in the politics, society and mindset of that period delivered with such spontaneity that it feels as light as a soufflé.
Suspenseful, evocative, character-driven, this is a rich, satisfying read which also sent me investigating Caravaggio and his work online!

[Stacey B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought this book was great.
I knew a bit about world famous baroque painter/artist Caravaggio to get by,
but not to the degree of info I learned from Mark Frutkin's book.
I did some follow up on the author and found that he most certainly did his research.
From his title I had no idea it pertained to Caravaggio and became intrigued by the word "assassin". The little knowledge I have did not include pre-meditated murder of this artist. In fact, as the book - is historical fiction, Frutkin added the assassin element.
It is documented that the artist owned a terrible temper; when he was found dead at the age of only 38 the assumption from many was that he was murdered so the story makes perfect sense.
I can only imagine what Caravaggio would have accomplished had he lived a longer life.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first became acquainted with Caravaggio while on a visit to the island of Malta. There in the Oratory of the Co-Cathedral of the Order of the Knights of St John is the painting of "The Beheading of St John" which was painted for them by the artist as recompense for their assistance as he fled from the forces of justice in Rome where he was wanted for murder. I remember being awed by the painting and wanted to know more about the artist. Caravaggio was a troubled man, constantly getting into fights. Perhaps it was this passionate aspect of his personality which also drove him to develop his distinctive style of painting. This book gives us details of his life which illuminate both his character and his development of his unique approach to art.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect one-line ending.
I almost hesitate to recommend because it’s now out of print and the two used copies I found online — in hopes of selecting it for our local book club — are exorbitantly priced (astronomically priced, in one case). If you have any interest in art and historical fiction, then I urge you to try inter-library loan. Well worth the effort and wait. I’ll be reading more Frutkin soon! His novel re Marco Polo, The Lion of Venice, looks quite intriguing.