Product Description
Focuses on three paintings done by Caravaggio for the two Mattei brothers - a cardinal and a marquis, who shared the family palace and, for a time, had Caravaggio as a house guest. Diverse topics that involved the politics of Counter-Reformation religion, poetry, and others are encompassed. ... Read more

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The Rizzoli Art Classics series brings you Piero della Francesca, Titian, Caravaggio, and Velázquez, all in beautifully illustrated monographs, offering high-quality reproductions in compact, accessible volumes.These books feature a literary introduction by a renowned art historian, a thoroughly researched essay, and captions describing the artist's most famous canvases. A useful appendix section includes an extensive chronology of the artist's life and important historical events of his time; a compilation of writings by well-known historians, insight into each painter's stylistic development; a geographical table detailing the location of each painting in the book; and a concise bibliography with suggested further readings.With authoritative text by leading art historians, these lavishly illustrated editions provide fresh insight into the art and lives of some of the most fascinating artists in the history of painting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Another Holy Sinner
This is what comes of reading Vladimir Nabokov's disturbing book The Enchanter; I find myself meditating on the delicate relationship between an artist's life and her/his work. I've reviewed the music of Johann Rosenmueller, a molester of choir boys, and the frescos of the Tuscan painter known as Sodoma, a bigamist who surrounded himself with pretty boys. Caravaggio was a great painter of the late Renaissance, a major innovator of 'chiaroscuro', whose work can be passionate and serene at the same moment. He was also a ruffian, a sexual rogue and a murderer.

The Rizzoli Art Classics series is a modest introduction to the artist, with fairly good reproductions, though small for a painter whose canvases were huge, and intelligent criticism/commentary. These days, of course, you can get more info and more photos of the paintings via Google, but the book will feel substantial in your hands. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Less than meets the eye
Ambitious book with a high theory profile. Should be read by people interested in the "queer Renaissance" but promises more than it delivers.

Academic Book
Hammill's book offers an interesting and much needed discussion of three important men relating issues of sexuality to the formation of their individual arts.Hammill presents his arguement in intriging and complex ways, greatly expanding the boundaries of his field and laying the groundwork for other scholars.I am surprised by the impassioned hatred of the other reviewer.They seem for some reason shocked that a book published by a University press, and using the line "Sexuality and Form is an ambitious new study of sexuality, aesthetics, and epistemology--one of the first works of its kind to bring queer theory and psychoanalysis together within a Renaissance framework" to describe itself should be written in academic language.This is a wonderful book for anyone who has taken college level art course and or ha studied lietrary/queer theory at the college level.Others might find it a bit opaque, but if you are willing to put in the time and effort you will be greatly rewarded.This is an academic study and is written in academic language, a language transparent to anyone trained to read it.I find it bemusing to read someone vilifying an academic book for being just that: academic.It's analogous to reading a pornographic novel and criticizing it for containing too much sex.

Do not Buy!NOT in English!
I've been cheated! This book isn't in English, but in academic babble! Before you buy it, try making sense of the very first paragraph:
"Sexuality and Form argues that sex is a limit of the civilizing process. It examines some of the epistemological and aesthetic spaces created by Renaissance painting, drama, and science - by Michelangelo Caravaggio, Christopher Marlow, and Francis Bacon, to be more specific - that permit attempts to think sex at the limit of civilized, social judgement. It is my contention that Carravagio, Marlow and Bacon share the attempt to construct experimental lines of sexed thinking - minor literatures, as Gilles Deleuza and Felix Guattari might put it - that rework, overturn, modify, and drain the normative force of civilized judgement from within. Specifically, I will argue that each of these thinkers is able to produce a temporal pose that is irreducible to social thought. What makes these experimental lines of thinking sexed is not simply the content of their thought but the various disjunctions between forms and substances upon which these lines of thinking insist, disjunctions whose locus in all three figures - Caravaggio, Marlow, and Bacon - is the epistemological space of the body being judged."
Try rereading it. Still no luck? Try this thought experiment: Imagine sitting in a 16th cent London tavern and telling Kip Marlow that he "share(s) the attempt to construct experimental lines of sexed thinking", or that he "insist(s)" on "various disjunctions between form and substance" ("insist"(s), mind you!). It'll be news to him!Shame on all who write, edit or peddle this nonsence! Shame on the University of Chicago Press!Why publish it? This language is not meant to communicate ideas. I'm reminds me of little boys in their back yard fort, talking their trivialities in pig latin so that the little girls can't understand them. If professor Hammill wants to engage his collegues (whomever they may be)in such a puerile game and call it scholarlship, that's their right. But I deeply resent being tricked into paying for it!


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Customer Reviews (2)

Journey into Darkness
I chose to use this book as a companion guide to visit Caravaggio's paintings in Rome. Jover includes locations of each painting as well as the year in which it was completed which made it very useful. The quality of the images of each painting is very well translated onto the pages of the book successfully capturing the effect of the chiaroscuro technique. Chapters are written in chronological order, further allowing you to understand the development of his oeuvre as well as the events occurring both in his personal life as well as the world around him as he created each painting included in the book. Jover weaves the personal life of Caravggio into compelling descriptions of his signature technique and style and emphasizes the fate of Caravaggio the man, the rogue, the assassin. A "must read" for all Caravaggio junkies.

Nice collection of paintings, shame about the book
I was purchasing a range of hardcover art books from Amazon, and having no Caravaggio in my collection, added this one.It has a large sampling of his paintings and is a useful addition to my library, but...

I wouldn't have called it a hardback book.I looked up the definition, and apparently, in the printing world, cardboard binding counts as hardcover no matter how thin it may be.This book is essentially bound in very heavy paper, and the pages are just glued in.It won't stand up to regular reading.In fact, the pages started to snap as soon as I opened the book fully.

Furthermore, the text that accompanies the illustrations is not particularly illuminating.I'm a surgeon, not an art historian, but even I know a bit more about the paintings and the history than the text provided.It's a shame, because the paintings mean more when you get a little bit of the social context, or the significance of the clothing, etc.

Summary: The paintings are beautiful.If you're an art student looking for the images, or just someone who wants a brief overview of Caravaggio, or if you intend to cut up this book (gasp) and use it for decor or in artwork, it's a good buy.But if you want a book that will last a lifetime or really deepen your understanding of one of the old masters, perhaps consider something more substantial. ... Read more

Product Description
"A true story of deception and smuggling in the art world." ... Read more

Product Description
Designed to slip into a pocket, rucksack, briefcase or handbag and written to deliver concise information, these new guides to the world's foremost artists are a handy reference tool for all art lovers. Open any page of these guides and you'll find a host of facts and illustrations clearly presented in modern, eye-catching spreads.Learn about the artist's life and timesFollow the evolution of a careerDiscover where his or her works can be found today Enhanced with glossaries, bibliographies, and maps, these perfect gallery and travel companions are printed on heavy, coated paper with a flexible cover that is durable enough to withstand repeated use. With this much information made accessible, Prestel Art Guides are certain to be opened again and again.Attractive - Affordable - AuthoritativePerfect pocket reference books ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

CARAVAGGIO'S CHIAROSCURO EFFECTS LARGELY MISSING
My issue with this publication in Konemann's "Masters of Italian Art" series does not involve its layout and written matter - which is up to the same great standard as can be found in 4 other volumes I already own.Expecting a similar quality I was dumbfounded looking at so many miserable images - which obviously do him a disservice

The problem being Caravaggio's most characteristic paintings are extremely dark. Plus it seems he used poor materials (black oil) much of which has seriously deteriorated. Just as Zerox machines do a poor job copying black it seems Konemann's printing presses were defeated by the task of replicating the extreme subtelty of his famous highly dramatic "chiaroscruro" paintings.

What one gets throughout is a sharp transition from highlighted flesh etc. into virtual black nothingness.Whereas even the ordinary postcards I bought in Italy over 40 years shows amongst the darkness are subtly suggested backgrounds and architectural details - to break-up what would otherwise be stark black and light viewing experiences.

Konemann are not alone failing to do Caravaggio true justice. A much larger expensive monograph published by Abbeville has even worse (all-black) reproductions. In their case the flesh tones in his early masterpeices tend to be pinkish and having seen many of the originals one knows his rendering of flesh was always naturalistic.

With Caravaggio coming back into fashion one looks forward to new publications where every effort is made to print reproduction of his entire oeuvre faithfully capturing every nuance of his brushwork - and artistic intentions.I see a new Caravaggio opus will be published by Skira in September 2010.With their fantastic track record for impeccable reproductions this may at last be the very first Caravaggio book which gets his colours right.

Even if this might involve digitally eliminating the damage done by "time" surely what really matters is to see what this extraordinary artist's radical innovations actually looked like when they first left his hand? Sadly not to be discerned when leafing through this volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Centering on 1606, when the artist killed a man in a duel and was forced to flee into exile, the narrative mixes history and biographical data into a lush fiction with the suspense of a mystery novel""-Publishers Weekly. ""Naess's novel retrieves Caravaggio from the dust of history-while avoiding the pitfalls of idolatry and caricature-in his brilliant, provocative, often comical, and ultimately generous novel. He gives this familiar story an urgent and contemporary terror in which we recognize the terrors and assassinations that continue to haunt our culture today""-Rain Taxi. ""A nicely textured tale.""-Kirkus Reviews ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

it's possibly for certain
Engaging, quick read in the form of a mystery that tackles some weighty philosophical-religious issues and the timely (and timeless) matter of the need for certainty in a world that refuses to offer any.Proponents of using character witnesses at trials won't be too happy, but E. Loftus fans will howl at this one.

Intellectual, cultural tour de force-ending blew me away!
This is a great book for artists, specifically passionate,
cutting-edge artists who loathe the mundane.And it's a
wonderful 'detective' story, with surprise endings.Yes, that's
a plural - it deliversone-two-three K.O.'s right up to the
very end...don't miss the final "Editor's Note," either.I love
a literary roller coaster ride, and this book is one of those, with, as mentioned, a Big Finish.

The book made me want to jump on a plane to Rome,
as well.My mouth watered, thinking of all those
gorgeous Caravaggios I haven't seen.Or at least I'll go
searcing for a "complete works of..." art book with full color repros.

Where has Atl Naess been all my life?Plan to read more, if
I can get my hands on his work.

Historical Who-Done-It for the Discerning Reader
Atle Naess tells the fictionalized story of painter Michel Angelo Merisi da Caravaggio (known to us today simply as Caravaggio) using the device of a contemporary cleric's investigation into the events that led up to Caravaggio's exile from Rome:whoring, brawling, and finally a verbal argument that ends in another man's death.Different witnesses give their versions of the painter and his shocking exploits, such as attacking a waiter who serves him improperly cooked asparagus or sitting with a dying prostitute so that he can use her agony as a model for The Death of the Virgin.Finally, we discover the surprising details of Caravaggio�s own death.

Naess, in his "Concluding Unscholarly Comment by the Editor," says:

"I began work on this publication in search of a certain clarity.It was, of course, my interest in the art, ideas and social history of the seventeenth century that prompted it, but if I may be permitted a remark of a private nature:I was driven also by personal need.
"It was the need to describe and comprehend holiness.This could also be expressed as the wise to reconstruct this lost power, which we no longer understand and which thus causes large areas of our history to have become incomprehensible to us" (154, 155).

Doubting Thomas makes perfectly clear our human shortcomings, our inability to attain holiness, but I'm not any clearer, really, about what holiness is.I see that it is NOT collecting sensually appealing, gorgeous artworks that are ostensibly religious in nature; nor it is about the competition of high-ranking churchmen to possess the greatest collection of such art.Caravaggio paints works which inspire some to deep religious feeling, yet utterly fails in his human relationships to attain Christian ideals of self-control, forgiveness, and love.He uses everyone around him as pawns to his art, rejects his family, and sleeps with his models, who are generally prostitutes (but are sometimes young boys).In its quest to comprehend holiness, this novel may serve only to prove in the end that, as the prophet said, "There is none holy, no, not one."

And yet, on the fringes of our perception, there is something pure and holy, something that shines through Caravaggio's art and all the confusion that surrounds our lives.It would be difficult to formulate a simple "theme statement" about this novel after a single reading, as high school teachers often ask students to do, yet Naess does seem to suggest that, as flawed as human beings are, we may be able to create something that points toward the infinite glory of God.

Doubting Thomas was deservedly a best seller in Europe, and I read it with great attention and interest.Nevertheless, I did not I enjoy it in the way one enjoys a simple who-done-it.Doubting Thomas left me disturbed, raising more questions than it answered. I would recommend this thought-provoking book to readers looking for a post-modern, historical detective novel. ... Read more

Product Description
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) has long been recognized as one of the great innovators in the history of art. Through detailed analysis of paintings from his early Roman period, 1594–1602, this study now situates his art firmly within both its humanistic and its scientific context. Here, both his revolutionary painterly techniques—pronounced naturalism and dramatic chiaroscuro—and his novel subject matter—still-life compositions and genre scenes—are finally put into their proper cultural and contemporary environment.

This environment included the contemporary rise of empirical scientific observation, a procedure—like Caravaggio’s naturalism—committed to a close study of the phenomenal world. It also included the interests of his erudite, aristocratic patrons, influential Romans whose tastes reflected the Renaissance commitment to humanistic studies, emblematic literature and classical lore. The historical evidence entered into the record here includes both contemporary writings addressing the instructive purposes of art and the ancient literary sources commonly manipulated in Caravaggio’s time that sanctioned a socially realistic art. The overall result of this investigation is characterize the work of the painter as an expression of "learned naturalism." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

And it was there all the time!
SergioBenedetti's tracking of Cararvaggio's 'The Taking Of Christ' reminds me of an "elementary Dr. Watson!" This masterpiece was known to exist; only it was merely attributed to the caravaggesque painter, Honthorst. Other copies (example in Odessa) were more favoured to be the genuine one. But Benedetti proved them all wrong. This book provides an interesting survey of the painting's history, style and......final attribution. Elementary Mr. Benedetti ... Read more