Synopses & Reviews
For four hundred years Caravaggio's (1571-1610) staggering artistic achievements have thrilled viewers, yet his volatile personal trajectory-the murder of Ranuccio Tomasini, the doubt surrounding Caravaggio's sexuality, the chain of events that began with his imprisonment on Malta and ended with his premature death-has long confounded historians. In a bravura performance, Andrew Graham-Dixon delves into the original Italian sources, presenting fresh details about Caravaggio's sex life, his many crimes and public brawls, and the most convincing account yet published of the painter's tragic death at the age of thirty-eight. With illuminating readings of Caravaggio's infamous religious paintings, which often depict prostitutes and poor people, Graham-Dixon immerses readers in the world of Italy at the height of the Counter-Reformation and creates a masterful profile of the mercurial painter's life and work.
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"This book [resees] its subject with rare clarity and power as a painter for the 21st century." Michelle Jones Dallas Morning News
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"Graham-Dixon's biography brilliantly illuminates the life of an artist who was no less shadowy than his canvases--a man capable of both committing murder and creating ineffable beauty." Joseph Luzzi
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"[Graham-Dixon] is an entertaining art historian. He took ten years to come to terms with a very obdurate and highly original painter. Time well spent." Bookforum
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"A thrilling lesson in the art of seeing, a sensual exploration of the shadows of Caravaggio's sometimes violent but always Christian world, a detective story with a highly satisfying ending." Economist
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"Criticism that manages to be skeptical and humane, dryly witty and deeply serious ..." Peter Carey
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"The most gifted art critic of his generation." Anthony Quinn
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" reads like a historical-swashbuckler-cum-detective-story while also providing an up-to-date introduction to some of the most admired paintings in Western art. " Robert Hughes
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"Graham-Dixon combed the criminal records of the era to glean extraordinary details about the artist's run-ins with the law. He skillfully evokes the social and religious context of turn-of-the-17th-century Italy." Michael Dirda Washington Post
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"[Graham-Dixon's] achieved a masterpiece of his own: an informative, fresh account of the painter's life and death. Even more impressive are the author's powerful and accessible analyses of Caravaggio's paintings, commentary that leaves readers eager to see the pieces at the heart of the story." Ann Levin Associated Press
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"Caravaggio has rarely been seen in such depth and such relief as in this marvellous biography." Hilary Spurling New York Times Book Review
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"Andrew Graham-Dixon brings the bad-boy genius of the 17th century to life as vividly as if he were one of today's pop stars." Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum
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"I have never known an art critic in London who responds so well, year in and year out, to the challenge of subjects that cover the whole range of Western art." John Richardson, author of A Life of Picasso
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"Andrew Graham-Dixon is the most gifted art critic of his generation." John Russell, long-time art critic of The New York Times
Synopsis
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) lived the darkest and most dangerous life of any of the great painters. This commanding biography explores Caravaggio's staggering artistic achievements, his volatile personal trajectory, and his tragic and mysterious death at age thirty-eight. Featuring more than eighty full-color reproductions of the artist's best paintings, Caravaggio is a masterful profile of the mercurial painter.
Synopsis
In a bravura performance, Andrew Graham-Dixon explores Caravaggio's staggering artistic achievements, delving into the original Italian sources to create a masterful profile of the mercurial painter. This and Notable Book of the Year features more than eighty full-color reproductions of the artist's best paintings.
Synopsis
"This book resees its subject with rare clarity and power as a painter for the 21st century."--Hilary Spurling, New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Andrew Graham-Dixon has presented six landmark series on art for the BBC, including the acclaimed A History of British Art, Renaissance and Art of Eternity, as well as numerous individual documentaries on art and artists. For more than twenty years he has published a weekly column on art, first in the Independent and, more recently, in the Sunday Telegraph. He has written a number of acclaimed books, on subjects ranging from medieval painting and sculpture to the art of the present, including Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane,