| Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane |  | Author: Andrew Graham-Dixon
Publisher: Allen Lane
Category: Book
List Price: £30.00
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 1,859
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 544
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 2
ISBN: 0713996749
EAN: 9780713996746
ASIN: 0713996749
Publication Date: July 1, 2010
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio lived the darkest and dangerous life of any of the great painters. In the course of this life, Caravaggio created the most dramatic paintings of his age, using ordinary men and women to model for his depictions of classic religious scenes. This book shows how he created their drama, immediacy and humanity.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 The life of a troubled artist revealed July 1, 2010
D. P. Mankin (Ceredigion, Wales)
50 out of 51 found this review helpful
I have always enjoyed reading Andrew Graham-Dixon's books, as well as watching his many TV series on different subjects or themes. Knowing very little about Caravaggio I looked forward with some anticipation to this book. And I'm pleased to say reading it has been a richly rewarding experience. I read in an article earlier this year that the author had been working on this project for a decade. The depth and breadth of research is evident throughout the book, as is Andrew Graham-Dixon's passion for the artist. This is an immensely enjoyable and informative read and I have to disagree with the harsh criticsm meted out by the Guardian's reviewer, such as: "There's a certain dour academic propriety to his [Andrew G-D] reading of the man";" it's a little depressing to be told that Caravaggio was not a violent whoremongering wastrel". It is a well researched, well written and is a revealing account of the artist's life and his work so ignore these negative comments and instead read it and come to your own conclusions.
A beautifully written portrait of a dark and troubled soul July 26, 2010
Paul Cardwell
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Andrew Graham Dixon has written a very readable and clearly-argued account of an artist whose life and work have been the subject of more ill-informed speculation and gossip than most. He does a first class job of sketching the extraordinary intellectual and spiritual atmosphere of Milan at the time of Borromeo, Caravaggio's formative years. Throughout the book he is heavily indebted to Helen Langdon's work, a debt he generously acknowledges. Overall AGD's is the most accessible biography on the shelves. I cannot, however, share his view of the impact of homosexuality on Caravaggio's art. AGD reckons this has been overstated. I think it is obvious that the pictures of boys are erotically charged and clearly intended to be so. Langdon is much more convincing in her reading of these pictures and the times in which they were painted. With that one caveat, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand this artist better, or at all.Very enjoyable, easy to read and highly informative.
comprehensive and authoritative, and an excellent read July 25, 2010
Bill B
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This is an excellent book. A must for lovers of art and art history. The author explains in the introduction that his focus is on the artist's paintings, and this is indeed the case with comments and interpretations of virtually all of Caravaggio's extant works, but the particular strength of the book lies in situating the paintings in their contemporary context. Graham-Dixon explains the social, economic and particularly religious environment of late-16th and early-17th century Italy in fascinating detail, enabling the reader to understand the context in which Caravaggio worked and produced his art. The opening chapter deals with the least documented period of his early life in Lombardy and is perhaps necessarily the most speculative, but it is nevertheless consistent and entirely convincing. It also establishes a firm foundation for an understanding of Caravaggio's religious beliefs and allows the author to build a consistent interpretation of Caravaggio's religiosity. The chapters on his life and work in Rome constitute the main body of the book, painting a compelling picture of a complex and troubled man in complex and troubled times. Much speculation, much of it lurid, has surrounded Caravaggio's life especially following his flight from Rome after the murder of Tomassoni. Graham-Dixon handles this exceptionally well, giving a full account of the murder and the aftermath, pulling no punches in describing the hopes and final failures in Naples, Malta and Sicily, and finally providing an excellent account of his final days, again laying to rest many of the more lurid speculations. There are almost 90 full-colour illustrations including all the artist's major works plus many examples of other works which either influenced him or were produced by his major competitors. A minor irritation is that the illustrations are not consistently ordered as they are referred to in the text and there is no cross-referencing so tracking them down and flicking backwards and forwards between text and illustration is cumbersome. Assessing Caravaggio's influence and contemporary relevance is difficult, especially as his work was forgotten or ignored for so long, and the last few pages of the book where this is attempted, especially through references to the cinematic work of Martin Scorsese, are not particularly convincing. (Scorsese is one of my favourite directors and Harvey Keitel one of my favourite actors, but not even a plea to Caravaggio is enough to save The Last Temptation of Christ from its rightful place in the Hall of Cinematic Shame.) These are minor quibbles though. This book provides a fully comprehensive, consistent and authoritative account of the life and work of a truly great artist.
Immersive and superbly referenced August 25, 2010
Hasan
Over the years I have enjoyed Mr. Graham-Dixon's documentaries. I personally feel that he has a great sense of the counterbalance required to make a work entertaining as well as informative. This is a great challenge - one that plagues academics in particular. Over my many years as a scientist with an interest in Art History, I have encountered texts that take one to the point of frustration with sheer boredom! How such writers can do this to such interesting subject matter is astonishing!
I am delighted to report that this is absolutely *not* the case with Mr Graham-Dixon's Caravaggio book! Echoing some of the themes explored in his 2002 documentary, "Who Killed Caravaggio?" AGD presents you with all the information you need to make up your own mind. It was refreshing to read an Art History work that is grounded in facts and evidence! Some Art Historians tend to waffle on - believing their personal opinion on what is ostensibly a subjective matter to carry some degree of authority. These connoisseur types are finding their role in the world of Art scholarship and academia increasingly in need of review. In this sense, AGDs work can be seen as something of a template for future scholarship - after this book, any Art Historian or biographer that wants to have a go at Caravaggio is going to need to match, or outdo the many hours of archival research that has gone into this title.
If you are excited by historical evidence, cleverly mixed in alongside some sensible discussion of the allegory and aesthetics of Caravaggio's work - then I thoroughly recommend this book. If you want to hear an Art Historian try and match your internalised view of how Caravaggio is a homosexual revolutionary, go read something else!
One final note - I sincerely wish Art publishers increasingly consider digital editions of such works - I would have preferred this in a kindle/digital format! :)
Caravaggio August 10, 2010
Mr. Paul Sheridan (UK)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very prompt delivery - at a great price - of an excellent book from an authoritative author who makes it a fascinating artists life an easy and enjoyable read
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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