- This monograph documents the complete works of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Milan, 1571 - Porto Ercole, 1610)
- It aims at highlighting the master's integrità and the fascination of his extraordinary art
- Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a milestone in Italian and European artistic culture
Caravaggio and his works have been in the past years the object of a sort of collective infatuation that on one side brought the value of the master's painting to very high levels and, on the other, generated a proliferation of new attributions, with a subsequent uncertainty and confusion among Caravaggio's devotees, but also a devaluation of the excellent level of the autographed works.
This new book, published on the fourth centenary of Michelangelo Merisi's death, is based on the analysis of the artistic production which is confirmed as Caravaggio's, thanks also to the discoveries of recent years.
The author tells the artist's life, characterised by lights and shadows, by marvel and scandal, thus presenting us an exceptionally real and alive profile of Caravaggio as a man, as well as his capability to innovate painting through creativity and technique. A complete work, with high-quality reproductions of the paintings, this volume presents the surprising and troubled style of the greatest genius of seventeenth-century Italy.
About the Authors:
Rossella Vodret is the Director of the Polo Museale in Rome, and Francesco Buranelli is the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Cultural Heritage.
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- This monograph documents the complete works of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Milan, 1571 - Porto Ercole, 1610)
- It aims at highlighting the master's integrità and the fascination of his extraordinary art
- Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a milestone in Italian and European artistic culture
Caravaggio and his works have been in the past years the object of a sort of collective infatuation that on one side brought the value of the master's painting to very high levels and, on the other, generated a proliferation of new attributions, with a subsequent uncertainty and confusion among Caravaggio's devotees, but also a devaluation of the excellent level of the autographed works.
This new book, published on the fourth centenary of Michelangelo Merisi's death, is based on the analysis of the artistic production which is confirmed as Caravaggio's, thanks also to the discoveries of recent years.
The author tells the artist's life, characterised by lights and shadows, by marvel and scandal, thus presenting us an exceptionally real and alive profile of Caravaggio as a man, as well as his capability to innovate painting through creativity and technique. A complete work, with high-quality reproductions of the paintings, this volume presents the surprising and troubled style of the greatest genius of seventeenth-century Italy.
400 years after the death of Caravaggio, some of the world’s most illustrious art historians comment on an extraordinary collection of 25 of his works.
How is it possible that an artist who lived over four centuries ago is still seen today as an icon of modernity? The answer must be sought in his works; this is where we will grasp Caravaggio’s aesthetic pursuit. His is a simple, non ideal, art.
He observed without prejudice, hewing close to the truth of things. In short, his was a revolutionary art, one which continues to fascinate laypeople and experts alike to this day.
The curators of the exhibition, which will take place in Rome in the spring of 2010, asked some of the world's preeminent Caravaggio scholars to share their feeling and insights about their favorite works by the artist.
The result is an original catalogue of great rigour yet expressed in deeply human and richly subjective tones.
- Pieces from museums all over the world: including the Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City and the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.
- The works include Crowning with Thorns from the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna with comments by Wolfgang Prohaska; Amor Victorious of the Gemäldegalerie – Staatliche Museen of Berlin discussed by Bernd Lindemann; Bacchus from the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, chosen by Antonio Paolucci; Supper at Emmaus from the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, in the eyes of Rossella Vodret; Saint Jerome Writing from St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation, Malta, with comments by Stefania Maciocie; the Lute Player from the Hermitage Museum; Saint John the Baptist from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; and the Musicians from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Caravaggio is an extremely well-loved artist with an intriguing life story.
- World-class art historians comment on this extraordinary collection.
