Harper Academic

Caravaggio

Painter of Miracles

by Francine Prose

On Sale: 02/09/2010

Price: $14.99

Caravaggio

Enlarge Book Cover

Caravaggio

Painter of Miracles

by Francine Prose

On Sale: 02/09/2010

Format:

Price: $14.99

About the Book

Caravaggio was a brilliant artist who defied the aesthetic conventions of his time; his realistic portraits of the poor, the aged, criminals, and ordinary people would have a profound effect on generations of painters. Possessed of an equally defiant temperament, Caravaggio was on the run from the law at the time of his mysterious death. In Caravaggio, New York Times bestselling author Francine Prose offers an enthralling account of the life and work of one of the greatest painters of all time.

Born in 1571 near Milan, Michelangelo Merisi (da Caravaggio) was a successful artist, protected by his many wealthy and influential patrons. But he was also a man of the streets and fled Rome in 1606, after apparently killing another man. He spent his last years in exile, at once celebrated for his art and tormented by his enemies. In 1610 he received a pardon from the Pope, only to die on his way back home. With passion and sensitivity, Prose tells the story of this brilliant yet flawed man who was a true artistic innovator.

Francine Prose is the author of fifteen books of fiction, including the highly acclaimed Goldengrove. The novel A Changed Man won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and Blue Angel was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. The nonfiction work Reading Like a Writer was a New York Times bestseller. She lives in New York City.

“Matching gorgeous prose to gorgeous artworks, Prose responds to each image as a moment of theatrical revelation, sensual or spiritual, and frequently both.” — Boston Sunday Globe

Critical Praise

“Racy, intensely imagined, and highly readable . . . Prose brings to Caravaggio a fresh and unflinching eye.” — New York Times Book Review

“Combines astute examination of his work with just a plain good yarn about a street tough who painted transcendent pictures.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Elegant . . . [Prose] fills out the intrigue of Caravaggio’s own life and writes terrifically about the paintings.” — Hartford Courant

“Tautly written and insightful.” — Seattle Times

“In this engaging and informative short biography . . . Prose vividly brings [Caravaggio’s] paintings to life.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Matching gorgeous prose to gorgeous artworks, Prose responds to each image as a moment of theatrical revelation, sensual or spiritual.” — Boston Sunday Globe

“Everything a casual reader needs to know about flamboyant Baroque artist Caravaggio... Makes you want to go to the museum.” — U.S. News & World Report

“Prose’s concentrated interpretation... clearly and descriptively explicates the pioneering painter’s unique perception of the miraculous in everyday life.” — Booklist

“Fine biography--and a study of why revolutionary art can be reviled in its own time and revered in another.” — Kirkus Reviews

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Product Details

  • ISBN: 9780061768903
  • ISBN 10: 0061768901
  • Imprint: Harper Perennial
  • On Sale: 02/09/2010
  • Trimsize: 5.310 in (w) x 8.000 in (h) x 0.360 in (d)
  • Pages: 160
  • List Price: $14.99
  • BISAC1 : ART / History / Renaissance
  • BISAC2 : ART / Individual Artists / General
  • BISAC3 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Artists, Architects, Photographers