Dimensions
157 x 234 x 28mm
A Life.
Of all Italian painters, Caravaggio (c.1565-1610) speaks most intensely to the modern world in his fascination with youth and sexuality, with violence and love, solitude and the spirit. As a passionate artist and a turbulent man, he has become a romantic hero, the artist rebel. In this colourful and detailed study - the first full-length biography - Helen Langdon overturns the myths and places Caravaggio firmly in the context of his own day.
Caravaggio was born near Milan, the son of the steward of the illustrious Colonna family, and the book traces the touching network of feudal relationships within this great family, which protected him throughout his tumultuous life. The naturalism and tragic darkness of his art and character are rooted in the harsh violence and sombre spirituality of Milan: in the plague that devastated the city, his father and grandfather died on the same day.
In his late twenties Caravaggio moved to Rome, to live a divided life - as the courtier, protected by great cardinals, creating images of a rich musical and scientific world, of the delicate beauty of fine objects; and as a man of the streets, the brothels and taverns, a world ruled by fierce codes of honour. His painter's vision of the poor and suffering brought him into conflict with the authorities, while his stormy, jealous, personal life led to a libel trial and then to a homicide. He spent his last years in exile in Naples, Malta and Sicily - a tormented man, producing work of astonishing power. Eventually he received a pardon from the Pope, only to die, in mysterious circumstances, on the journey back to Rome.
This is a new kind of book, a critical biography of an Old Master painter. Acutely responsive to place, to spiritual movements, to the fluid sexuality of the epoch, Helen Langdon brilliantly evokes the relation between individual vision and psychology and the powerful movements of the time. Beautifully illustrated with black and white and full colour plates, her dramatic yet subtle portrait shows Caravaggio's life to be as sensational and enigmatic as his powerful and enduring art.
