- Hardcover: 544 pages
- Publisher: Allen Lane; 1st Edition edition (1 July 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0713996749
- ISBN-13: 978-0713996746
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 139,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
Caravaggio has rarely been seen in such depth and such relief as in this marvellous biography. Andrew Graham-Dixon reads Caravaggio's paintings with the habits and assumptions, thoughts and fears of his contemporaries so that we see and feel the paintings more acutely and intensely than before. The man and his work emerge enriched and enlivened (Neil Macgregor, Director Of The British Museum )
Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane gave me immense pleasure and provided constant delight. It is 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. Andrew Graham-Dixon's ability to have a reader see a painting through written language is a rare and precious gift. The book's rigour and integrity are obvious. I trusted every word and was sorry to turn the final page (Peter Carey )
Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane gave me immense pleasure and provided constant delight. It is 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. Andrew Graham-Dixon's ability to have a reader see a painting through written language is a rare and precious gift. The book's rigour and integrity are obvious. I trusted every word and was sorry to turn the final page (Peter Carey )
Product Description
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio lived the darkest and most dangerous life of any of the great painters. The worlds of Milan, Rome and Naples through which Caravaggio moved and which Andrew Graham-Dixon describes brilliantly in this book, are those of cardinals and whores, prayer and violence. On the streets surrounding the churches and palaces, brawls and swordfights were regular occurrences. In one such fight Caravaggio killed Ranuccio Tomassoni, a pimp, and fled to Naples and then Malta, home to the Knights of St John, where he escaped from prison following his conviction for another vicious assault. Shortly afterwards he died while returning to Rome to seek a papal pardon for his crimes. He was thirty-eight years old.
In the course of this desperate life Caravaggio created the most dramatic paintings of his age, using ordinary men and women - often prostitutes and the very poor - to model for his depictions of classic religious scenes. Andrew Graham-Dixon's exceptionally illuminating readings of Caravaggio'spictures, which are the heart of the book, show very clearly how he created their drama, immediacy and humanity, and how completely he departed from the conventions of his time.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
96 of 99 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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! :)
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! :)
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
"Poor Caravaggio"...
...as he is referred to in the closing pages of AGD's super biography. Indeed, my overriding emotion at the end was one of feeling sorry for the 400 year old master and a life cut... Read more
Published 3 months ago by P. Spencer
An Obvious First Choice
It is not very often that a serious piece of art historical writing rooted in the archives also manages to be be both readable and exciting. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Eugene Onegin
An outstanding read
This is one of the most compelling and fascinating books I have ever read. I feel I have learned so much about the history and politics of the period and the religious practices of... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Marcel St.John
Informative and very poignant
I have only ever seen two Caravaggio paintings in my life 'in the flesh' as it were - Bacchus, in the Uffizi in Florence, and 'The Beheading of John the Baptist' in the... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Frostycat
A good read for the train.
I picked up the paperback version as a good diversion for my commuting, being small enough for one of my larger pockets. Read more
Published 7 months ago by aphid
A Great Read
Easily the best history of art book I have read. Andrew Graham-Dixon's broad knowledge of his subject combined with his skill in bringing Carrivaggio, and early 17th century Rome,... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mark Leach
Good reading
'Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane' was delivered promptly, in mint condition, and it makes excellent reading. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Rameses
not an easy read
I bought this as I really enjoyed Andrew Graham Dixon's TV series on Art of Russia,Spain and Germany. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Sylvie Fan
A lesson in art history
I bought this after reading a review and I was certainly not disappointed. Anyone who admires Caravaggio's work will be fascinated not only by the vivid picture of the artist... Read more
Published 9 months ago by K. E. Rowlands
Caravaggio: A Life Sacred & Profane
Superb - can see why Andrew Graham-Dixon took 10 years to write it - the depth of background information from associates of Caravaggio to political climate etc. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Maria Beds.
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