Overflowing in both talent and self-regard, Caravaggio (1571-1610) remains an enigma. He left behind no diaries or letters to convey his thoughts. Instead, contemporaries chose to chronicle his quarrels, profligate drinking and gambling, violent altercations and hurried escapes from vengeful factions. This book is a personalized view of the artist's works. While Caravaggio was a highly successful painter of the religious subjects in demand at the time, he assumes a modern cast. His models were laborers, vagabonds, con men and whores — a far cry from inserting the portraits of rich patrons in the guise of faithful worshipers. His compositions have an almost photographic quality in that he is interested in capturing a particular frame of action, rather than a symbolic pose staged for the benefit of the viewer. Despite the subject matter, the viewpoint is resolutely secular. The author notes that he is almost repudiating religious convention. His paintings force the viewer to deal with a harshly graphic present. The unflinching focus is on life's brevity, not a glorious eternity. With her writing, the author attempts to recreate through prose the dramatic vitality of Caravaggio's paintings. Her effort is successful in that it encourages the reader to form a personal relationship of his own with Caravaggio. A great deal of attention is focused on Caravaggio's early still life paintings. Basket of Fruit (http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h...), ca. 1599, depicts insect-chewed leaves, a worm-eaten apple, the impression of over-ripe fruit. Some have speculated the painting represents the brevity and inevitable decay of life. Others imagine it is Caravaggio deriding his earlier apprenticeship where he was tasked with painting fruits and flowers. The author calls attention to the exploitation of design disguised as reality in the diagonal rise of the vine. Yet, the focus in this painting seems to be those too-perfect grapes pushing out from the foreground. In contrast, they glisten and seem about to burst with their promise of sweet, intoxicating delight. Only a small handful of the paintings are reproduced in this book. Readers are warned that they will need to search online for the other paintings the author discusses. A second omission is that the historical context that make Caravaggio's work so visionary is only touched upon. The author contrasts Caravaggio with a successful contemporary, Giuseppi Cesari, but none of Cesari's works are included in the book for visual comparison. (See the following website for examples online. https://www.google.com/search?q=cesar...). Instead, the author relies on words to suggest the contrast. “If Caravaggio's paintings are brilliant, nearly photographic representations of miracles in progress, Cesari's frescoes more often evoke the illustrations in Sunday school textbooks. Indeed, Cesari is one of the many of Caravaggio's contemporaries whose work reminds us of what it is easy to forget or overlook — that is, how revolutionary Caravaggio was, how much he changed and rejected: the baby-blue heavens, the pillowy clouds, the airy ascensions accompanied by flocks of pigeonlike cherubs and choirs of attractive angels.” (p.29) Perhaps that is all that's needed. The characterization of “pigeonlike” will change the reader's view of Caravaggio's Mannerist predecessors forever.This is part of the publisher's “Eminent Lives” series, an interesting approach to biography. Accomplished authors rather than historians or scholars are enlisted to write accessible, stylistically distinctive biographical sketches of historic figures. The desire to escape the limits of an academic treatment is reflected in the lack of an index. On one hand, the choice of Caravaggio as a subject is odd, since so little is actually known about his life. On the other hand, it is eloquent in bringing Caravaggio to life through his art.
The strength of this account of Caravaggio’s life lies in the link between his personal history, the historical epoch within which he lived, and of course, his painting. Rather than letting his intellect get in the way of his feelings, Caravaggio “painted” his emotions directly to the canvass. The result is a painting style that has elicited very divergent reactions among critics, running the gamut from creative genius with an odd sense of subtleness to overdone coarse vulgarity. Ironically, it is his focus on the graphic depictions of saints just before and after they were martyred that strikes such a human cord; a delivery of emotion that flies off the canvass in a profound way. What we learn is that a paradox of emotion was characteristic of Caravaggio’s life – opportunities within grasp but frustrated by deep-seated insecurities that resulted in self-defeating and sometimes violent reactions to rather mundane criticism. Yet, you get the impression that it was this angst and hypersensitivity that caused him to literally “pound the canvass,” releasing a level of creativity and spectacle that is unique to Caravaggio. The book provides a detailed account of his rather nomadic life – frequently fleeing as a fugitive, seeking pardon, only to fall victim again and again to his violent tendencies. Becoming a Knight of Malta, then having it rescinded for violent acts allegedly perpetrated against his fellow Knights. After living in Malta, Naples, and Sicily he finally received a pardon from noblemen in Rome for a murder. His attempted return is then thwarted when he is detained by the Spanish (apparently for some brash remarks), only to have his ship sail away with paintings that were recovered after his death (presumably from Malaria). Among the paintings lost and later recovered by his sponsors in Rome were the famous Saint John the Baptist and David with the Head of Goliath (both of which now reside in Galleria Borghese in Rome). This book is best read with images of his paintings in hand (which are not part of the Ebook), since the detailed depictions really need to be seen alongside the narrative to be appreciated.
Do You like book Caravaggio: Painter Of Miracles (2005)?
Francine Prose provides the reader with an excellent essay on the life and works of Michangelo Merisi, da Caravaggio. She describes the violence in two works -- The Flagelaation of Christ and the Crucifixation of Saint Peter as both depicting the moment of suffering before the real suffering has begun. Quick notes about the book:1. Darkness2. Lack of a discernible background3. Theatrical chiaroscuro4. Contemporary settingDepicted the "ordinariness of a miracle" by depicting human beings who faces resemble faces we know, and who share our inescapably human doubts and fear. Caravaggio emphasizes the humanity of Christ, his disciple the Virgin and the MagdaleneSex and death pull the strings turning all of us into their marionettesGrief involved in simply being alive, first in being young ambitious, ready to conquer the world, and then in growing old, ill, weak, suffering and dying.Sex, violence and God can coexist in the same dramatic sceneRome during Caravaggio's time was a city of men with a large number of women being prostitutes. Rome was a very violent city...Despite having a very disordered and chaotic life, Caravaggio during the early parts of his career was able to finish his projects on time.Sick Bacchus is a work I have never seen before...looks like a pathetic, ill (AIDS or some other VD) young male prostitute.Whenever Caravaggio depicts both a man and a woman together,in secular works, the man is being cheated or killed. The Gypsy Fortune-teller or Judith an Holofernes for example.Giussippe Cesari and Cardinal Del Monte -- two of his first employers -- still lifes, Gorgon, Boy being bitten by a lizard -- most interesting to me.Very violent public executions that more than likely influenced Caravaggio's art. The more famous Caravaggio became the more violent he became.Cult of martyrdom -- achieving martyrdom and imposing it on others -- swept through the church during the 16th century.Rome in 16001. violent and intemperate2. suffused by the specter of disaster and the spectacle of merciless death3. trafficking in empty promises of salvation4. without hope of redemption, without a sign of where redemption might be found5. dispensations reduced to the price of an arduous journey to the cityDeath of St. Matthew-- the man killing him was just about to be baptizedYounger painters love Caravaggio...old guard does not...Caravaggio respected the work of CarracciThree versions of the young John the Baptist -- each one more sensuous than the other. Never saw John the Baptist depicted that way.Caravaggio's paintings could be rejected by the group that commissioned it and then purchased by a private collector.The Entombment is one of Caravaggio's greatest works...it is copied by many artists including Cezanne.Artists of Naples loved Caravaggio's works with the zeal of a convert. His depictions of violence .... realism in which the violence is portrayed...the works never shy away from from telling the truth about what human being will, given half the chance, do to one another...Caravaggio reveals what he knew about violence or suspected about how much it is enjoyed.
—Wendy
This was a great book, very well written. I particularly enjoyed Prose's blatant recognition of how little we know about Caravaggio's life and her explanations and passionate dissection of the pieces. I would highly suggest this book to anyone interested in Caravaggio or art history in general. The length (150 pages) makes it easily approachable and it is a great overview of the artist.One suggestion I have to readers though is to have a computer or a book of Caravaggio's paintings nearby as you read. There are not many paintings pictured in the book, and Prose's descriptions of his works are much more insightful and enjoyable with a reference image at hand.
—Jennifer
Prose's brief life is indeed brief and more focused on the art than Caravaggio's life. A blessing really, since I'd much rather read her luminous descriptions of these brilliant paintings and how they affect the viewer than try to keep track of the many fancifully named Cardinals and orders Caravaggio worked for, or which set of brawlers he may, or may not have been running from at any point in time. If you aren't very familiar with Caravaggio's work, best keep a computer at hand as many of the paintings she discusses are not reproduced in this slim volume.
—Anmiryam
