Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 396 ratings · 69 reviews

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (29 September 1571–18 July 1610) lived probably the darkest and most dangerous life of any of the great painters. The worlds of Milan and Rome through which Caravaggio moved and which Andrew Graham-Dixon describes brilliantly in this book, are those of cardinals and prostitutes, prayer and violence. Graham-Dixon puts the murder of a pimp,...more

Hardcover, 514 pages

Published September 12th 2011 by Allen Lane (first published 2010)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011

19th out of 100 books — 41 voters

The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxset by Suzanne Collins

Best Books of the Decade: 2010's

398th out of 746 books — 385 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,688)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 25, 2012 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arts, biography

(This review originally appeared at the Washington Independent Review of Books)

Being a tortured rock star is tough in any century. Case in point: Michaelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the brilliant, brooding, bad boy of the 16th-century art world, whose rise to fame in his early 20s seemed propelled as much by sheer force of will as it was talent, and whose fall before the age of 40 makes for a spectacularly self-destructive tragedy worthy of Shakespeare — or at least of Sid Vicious, Jim Morrison,...more (This review originally appeared at the Washington Independent Review of Books)

Being a tortured rock star is tough in any century. Case in point: Michaelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the brilliant, brooding, bad boy of the 16th-century art world, whose rise to fame in his early 20s seemed propelled as much by sheer force of will as it was talent, and whose fall before the age of 40 makes for a spectacularly self-destructive tragedy worthy of Shakespeare — or at least of Sid Vicious, Jim Morrison, Keith Moon and countless other hard-living rock-and-rollers.

In his scholarly but surprisingly spunky biography, Graham-Dixon follows Caravaggio on the roller coaster ride that was the artist’s life, starting with his rise from obscurity in Milan, to his early success in Rome, where his eye for stark realism and creative use of light and shadows brought him admiration and fame, though he would still, to his annoyance, be regarded as something of a novelty act. From those heights, it’s an equally rapid race through the downward spiral of the murder rap that sends the painter on the run through Malta (where he’s arrested and jailed), then Naples (where an ambush leaves him severely wounded) and finally to Porto Ercole, where he dies under mysterious circumstances. These are the basics — but given that the paper trail left by the painter as he slouched and swashbuckled his way across Italy is either nonexistent or invisible, Graham-Dixon, at times, has to adopt the tones of a detective novelist as he scours one obscure document after another, uncovering criminal depositions, buried letters and coroner reports to bring the painter and his world to vivid life.

Graham-Dixon carefully lays down Caravaggio’s upbringing and background, placing the painter in the context of late 16th-century Milan where the humorless, stridently devout archbishop of Milan, Carlo Borromeo, was determined to enforce good and pious behavior. Borromeo believed in a Christ incarnate, insisting that his subjects visualize a living, breathing Christ in the hope that doing so would make his suffering and sacrifices that much more graphic and glorious. Further, the archbishop was also a fan of the sacro monte — literally the “sacred mountain,” a string of small chapels featuring three-dimensional scenes from the Bible that visitors strolled through and gawked at like a Disney attraction. These displays were often intentionally shocking — the floor of one chapel appeared to have dismembered babies strewn across it — but such religious showcases were unavoidable in Caravaggio’s formative years, which goes a long way toward explaining how the almost defiantly non-religious Caravaggio could be so familiar with religious imagery and Biblical allusions.

As a young man, Caravaggio was apprenticed to the “dull and cautious” painter Simone Peterzano, who provided the artist not so much with instruction on how to paint, but more of an example of how not to do it. In 1592, Caravaggio headed for Rome where he began producing increasingly sophisticated and highly realistic paintings, even as he continued to behave badly, falling in with a crowd of shady young men who encouraged his fighting, whoring and skulking about. Yet, his undeniable talent ensured him admirers, benefactors and protectors happy to look the other way — or bribe an official or two — to keep the young man painting.

Even in his earliest works, Caravaggio had a showman’s knack for storytelling. His paintings of coy fortune tellers stealing rings off the finger of a mark, or of crooked card players fleecing unsuspecting well-to-do young men are almost like snapshots of singular moments in time, telling a complete story in a single image and catching the particular event at its most dramatic moment. The buzz generated from these slice-of-life paintings led to commissions for chamber pieces and, eventually, altarpieces and other religious paintings — a genre at which the swaggering, profane Caravaggio would excel.

For Caravaggio — raised on Borreomeo’s steady diet of a visualized Christ and the vivid sacro monte — Christ, his disciples and the Virgin Mary had weight and heft. There would be no Christ or Mary ascending to heaven on feathery clouds; instead, Christ plods along on dirty, bare feet, gesturing for St. Matthew as he leans over a counting table. A real prostitute poses for a dying Virgin Mary as balding disciples sob around her. The dead Christ in “The Entombment of Christ” lolls heavily in the arms of St. John, whose fingers inadvertently tear open the savior’s wounds. And in each, Caravaggio lights his figures dramatically against nearly pitch black backgrounds, almost literally highlighting the moment and forcing the viewer to pause and reflect — and, perhaps, move them to penance, as Borromeo might have hoped of viewers of the sacro monte.

And yet, the realism and sophistication of Caravaggio’s paintings proved too much for many tastes at the time. Like a painterly Mozart surrounded by a sea of dabbling Salieris, Caravaggio saw many of the more prestigious commissions go to lesser artists who worked in the safer, more traditional styles. Graham-Dixon, an art critic and historian, is dexterous in his discussion of Caravaggio’s art, reading neither too much nor too little into the paintings. While he studies their dramatic composition, he won’t usually bother you with heavy-handed symbolism — apart from explaining how he thinks the loutish Caravaggio may have been aware of such highbrow symbolism in the first place.

Graham-Dixon also puts Caravaggio’s art in context of other paintings at the time, showing how other artists interpreted similar themes — and when you see Caravaggio’s version of “The Death of the Virgin” jammed up against the mundane altarpiece that replaced it, you’ll understand why its rejection may have ignited Caravaggio’s already notorious temper (and prompted him to aim a horse’s ass in one of his own pieces directly at the replacement painting). Seething, Caravaggio eventually ends up taking part in a duel in which a hotheaded pimp named Ranuccio Tomassoni is critically wounded — and Graham-Dixon has uncovered new evidence which he believes suggests a far more salacious motivation for the fight, which prior biographers have attributed to a spontaneous dust-up over a tennis match. Graham-Dixon argues convincingly that the fight was likely provoked by a slur aimed at Tomassoni’s wife, who may or may not have been one of Tomassoni’s prostitutes.

From here, it’s all sadly and inescapably downhill for Caravaggio for the last four years of his life — though he continues, miraculously, to keep right on painting. With a price on his head, he hustles to Malta, where he becomes one of the favored Knights of Malta and tries to sweet talk his way into forgiveness by producing portraits of some of the leading members of the court. Later, he sends a potential benefactor a painting of David with the head of Goliath, substituting his own head for the slain giant — a final plea for a clemency that never arrives. Sadly, his temper again gets the best of him: Caravaggio kills another man, lands in prison, then, tantalizingly, somehow pulls off a daring escape of which no details are known. Hiding out in Naples in 1609, he’s ambushed, perhaps in revenge for his most recent murder, yet shakily completes two more paintings before dying under mysterious — or at least confusing — circumstances at the age of 38. And here again, Graham-Dixon carefully dissects conflicting stories of the painter’s death, assessing motivations, weather and the speed of messengers to determine what may have really happened.

In his perhaps too-brief aftermath and epilogue, Graham-Dixon traces the inevitable rise of Caravaggio’s reputation, finding his influence in remarkable places — including the films of Martin Scorsese, who admits he aspired “to do Jesus like Caravaggio” in “The Last Temptation of Christ.” Not a bad legacy for the hard-living, self-destructive genius who did so much more than just live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse.(less)

7 likes · like · see review

Feb 10, 2011 Jennifer (JC-S) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: librarybooks

‘Caravaggio’s art is made from darkness and light.’

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, born on 29 September 1571, died on 18 July 1610. In between, he created magnificent paintings and got himself into a lot of trouble with the law. Caravaggio was particularly renowned for his use of chiaroscuro, a technique which uses light and dark to achieve a three dimensional effect. Caravaggio received his early training in Milan where he specialised in still life. Around 1592 he moved to Rome, where he cha...more ‘Caravaggio’s art is made from darkness and light.’

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, born on 29 September 1571, died on 18 July 1610. In between, he created magnificent paintings and got himself into a lot of trouble with the law. Caravaggio was particularly renowned for his use of chiaroscuro, a technique which uses light and dark to achieve a three dimensional effect. Caravaggio received his early training in Milan where he specialised in still life. Around 1592 he moved to Rome, where he changed the subject matter of his painting to street life and young boys. In 1595, his extraordinary talent caught the attention of Cardinal Francesco del Monte who subsequently became his first patron.

Two of Caravaggio’s three painting about Saint Matthew: The Calling, and The Martyrdom (the third painting is The Inspiration) were his first public commissions and created a sensation. Their success meant that he never lacked commissions or patrons. His paintings in this period were realistic, direct and very intense and looked as though the events they depicted had taken place in the streets of Rome.

But Caravaggio’s personality was also direct and very intense and resulted in his being arrested on several occasions. In 1606, after Caravaggio stabbed and killed Ranuccio Tomassoni, he flees to Naples intending to return to Rome (where friends are lobbying on his behalf) via Malta and Sicily. Along the way, he produces several magnificent works – including the altarpiece ‘The Beheading of St John the Baptist ‘(1607-1608) created for St John’s Cathedral in Valletta, Malta. This altarpiece constituted Caravaggio’s payment to the Knights of Malta for his investiture as a Knight of Magistral Obedience. Alas, Caravaggio was not to retain his knighthood for very long: his escape from Malta in 1608 saw him expelled from the Order.

I found this book fascinating: the details (sometimes speculative) of Caravaggio’s life, the historical context in which he was living and working and the colour plates showing many of his works make it easy to appreciate the extent of his talent. A fascinating look at a gifted but flawed genius.

Caravaggio’s life, as well as his art, was made of darkness and light.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jan 24, 2013 Peter Clothier rated it 4 of 5 stars

Andrew Graham-Dixon’s Caravaggio:A Life Sacred and Profane is essential reading for anyone interested in this mercurial late 16th, early 17th century Italian artist, whose brilliant, often disquieting work challenged the conventions of the Mannerist style that preceded him and opened up the path of gritty realism for artists in the centuries that followed. The book creates a more subtle, complex, and persuasively human portrait of a man too often reduced in the past to the caricature of the bad...more Andrew Graham-Dixon’s Caravaggio:A Life Sacred and Profane is essential reading for anyone interested in this mercurial late 16th, early 17th century Italian artist, whose brilliant, often disquieting work challenged the conventions of the Mannerist style that preceded him and opened up the path of gritty realism for artists in the centuries that followed. The book creates a more subtle, complex, and persuasively human portrait of a man too often reduced in the past to the caricature of the bad boy artist—violent, promiscuous, rebellious and anti-social. Graham-Dixon’s Caravaggio is all this, and at the same time deeply empathetic with the social outcast and the needy, and a serious, intentional student of the art and literature of the past as well as of his contemporaries. While much of his brief time on earth was mired in the darkness that pervades almost all his painting, he is here portrayed as sincere in the spiritual aspiration characterized by the sharply contrasting light. He was an ardent practitioner of “chiaroscuro”--and not only in his canvases : “Caravaggio’s life,” writes Graham-Dixon, “is, like his art, a series of lightning flashes in the darkest of nights.”

Michelangelo Merisi, named Caravaggio after the town of his origin, was born into the very real darkness of the plague-ridden city of Milan in 1671. In his earliest years he lost almost every male member of his family, including his father, and was brought up in the a=shadow of poverty, sickness and death. It's hardly surprising, then, that he was much influenced by the new wave of socially-conscious Catholicism that followed in the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi. In a pattern that was to be repeated at intervals throughout his life, he was forced as a young man to flee Milan as a fugitive from the law, and took up residence in Rome where he soon found patronage and established a reputation for creative genius as well as for his scandalous, even criminal personal behavior. His apprenticeship as an artist had been so inferior and conventional, in Graham-Dixon’s telling, that much of his pioneering talent was self-taught, acquired in the studio and by the challenge he found in masters like his namesake Michelangelo. He never learned the traditional art of fresco, nor did he plot out his canvases with preparatory drawing, preferring instead to work spontaneously with paint.

In Rome, the artist’s life narrative goes, he was regularly seen in the unsavory company of whores, pimps, drunkards and petty criminals. (This book disputes earlier presumptions of Caravaggio’s homosexuality; more than likely, it suggests, he was equally promiscuous with both sexes.) Triggered easily to violent response by presumed affronts to his dignity as a man or artist, he prowled the seedier districts of the city at night armed with sword and dagger, dressed all in black, always ready for a brawl. Lacking other written historical records, Graham-Dixon diligently trolls contemporaneous court records for details of an unruly lifestyle that led to the artist’s renewed flight from justice, following an illegal duel that resulted in the death of his opponent. Next stop, the teeming, iniquitous backstreets of Naples; then, after more troubles, the island fortress of Malta, where he managed to parlay his talent as a painter into a hospitaller knighthood, only to be stripped of the honor weeks later for having defied the rules of the ancient Order of St. John. Disgraced, and pursued by insulted fellow knights bent on revenge, he fled to Sicily, where the last of his great paintings were made. He died, still not yet forty and still on the lam, in a last attempt to secure a pardon and return to Rome. His death was caused in part as a result of wounds received in a revenge attack by unknown assailants. (Studies of more recent bone fragment discoveries, claimed to be those of Caravaggio, suggest that lead poisoning from oil-based paints could have been a contributing factor; and could also have been the cause, as with Van Gogh, of a debilitating mental instability at the root of his eccentric behavior.)

It’s an extraordinary story, filled with intrigue and dramatic twists and turns. I'll admit that I found myself bogged down, at times, by the sheer amount of meticulous research into the competing families and clans in early 17th century Italy, but Graham-Dixon’s evocations of the palaces and churches, the taverns and the often dangerous city streets proved compelling enough to keep me thoroughly engaged, informed and entertained. He’s at once inventive and persuasive, too, in his portrayal of the characters involved, from courtesans to countesses, from church dignitaries to noble patrons of the arts and denizens of those treacherous back alleys. He paints a colorful and lively picture of an eventful historical period, when Inquisition Spain ruled Italy and Catholicism struggled to preserve its temporal and spiritual power against the spread of Protestant theology to the north.

I’m personally less convinced by some aspects of Graham-Dixon's interpretation of the paintings, almost all of which he examines with an expert eye and with fine attention to the detail of both style and narrative content. But he projects into them a great deal more religious fervor and significance that I think is warranted. I tend to agree with his assessment that “Whatever [Caravaggio] set out to paint—the death of a martyr, the infancy of Christ or his resurrection—he always ended up painting himself.” The earthiness, the explicit, often sultry, ultimately fleshly sexuality, the bloody violence, the reality of poverty and degradation—down to the grubby feet and dirt under the fingernails—all these seem to me very much an expression of the “profane” reality of the artist’s lived experience. The paintings’ sometimes thuggish, sometimes cutthroat melodrama echoes the recurrent melodrama of his life. And that “sacred” glow, those “lightning flashes” that highlight moments of ecstatic revelation read, to this one viewer, more like aspiration than belief, more hope than faith.

These disagreements aside, Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane remains a first class read. I could have wished for larger reproductions than the ones squeezed in between the text--but then there is always the Internet, a click away, with ready access to fine images and detail. You'll find an excellent slideshow here.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jul 20, 2012 Jose rated it 5 of 5 stars

Splendid book about a painter whose life was as wrapped in violence as it has been shrouded by conjecture. Some recent discoveries and archive dredging have filled some gaps and Graham-Dixon does a good job at dissecting through document comparison and research. Still, most of Carvaggio's life remains a mystery.
The main idea of the book is how Carvaggio embraced a vision that became so original and counter to norm that his influence was felt all throughout Europe for centuries to come , from V...more Splendid book about a painter whose life was as wrapped in violence as it has been shrouded by conjecture. Some recent discoveries and archive dredging have filled some gaps and Graham-Dixon does a good job at dissecting through document comparison and research. Still, most of Carvaggio's life remains a mystery.
The main idea of the book is how Carvaggio embraced a vision that became so original and counter to norm that his influence was felt all throughout Europe for centuries to come , from Velazquez to Rubens and beyond. Mostly self taught even thought he did try his hand at apprenticing with the Cesari atelier in Rome and others, working in precarious conditions most of his life in different rented and borrowed studios, fleeing from both justice and clients anxious to secure his services, it is astonishing he painted as much as he did considering it was said that "a week in his studio meant a month in the streets".

His paintings are a product of many influences, very few of them "artistic", at least not from his contemporaries. He was in tune with the Counter Reform , specially the brand promoted by Carlo Borromeo, bishop of Milan, with its emphasis on the plight of the poor and the common people. Even when this ideal fell out of style in the Church, Carvaggio never abandoned it and made but few concessions to those that wanted wafts of cherubs in clouds and pretty madonnas. The author also mentions the impact the Sacro Monte di Varallo might have had in his formative years. The Sacro Monte was a set of sculptural groups distributed around some hills. Built to educate the illiterate masses, these scenes contain vivid colors and often gruesome details. The streets of Rome and the underworld provided both the models and settings for his painitngs. And from time to time, Carvaggio would look over the shoulder to the other Michelangelo, Buonarrotti.

His first works done for Cardinal del Monte are charged with a strange sensuality and clumsiness but they prefigure the corporeal weight that would both scandalize and tantalize his contemporaries. His only still life, a basket of fruit, basically contains every element of genius that would launch his career. The fruit is not only masterfully rendered but it is plump, damaged and overripe.

As his work matures, he sets to depict his subjects in daring compositions and a lighting scheme that would become his signature. Flashes of light penetrate the scenes, biblical or saintly , but mostly scenes that could have been plucked out of the strife filled streets of Rome in some cases. The "Calling of Sat Mathew" and the "Conversion of St Paul" in St Luigi dei Francesi in Rome became a sudden sensation on both counts of bringing daily life to biblical subjects and daring almost brutal composition.

The shifty but almost conclusive fact that Caravaggio might have been a pimp and was most likely sexually attracted to adolescent boys explains why some of the models used for his cupids and for his saintly women were indeed prostitutes and catamites. Even the Virgin herself would be modeled after one of the whores that kept him company. He rarely idealized his subjects, they all have their wrinkles, sun burnt skin, dirty feet and torn clothes. It is no wonder he saw much rejection and mockery of his artwork based on this elements. Not to worry, every rejection was accompanied with a race to secure the rejected masterpiece for one or another connoisseur. None other than Rubens lobbied heavily to have "The Death of the Virgin" brought to Antwerp and even had a special container built for the transport. Moreover, the artists that mocked him set to frantically try to imitate his style in droves.

And then there's the many crimes, brawls, wounds, punishments and pardons involving everyone from the street gangs all the way to the Pope. One painting after another were made to pay debts, escape death or obtain grace as if painting was a race for survival. These imbroglios are also well documented in this book. The author minces no words, Caravaggio was a conflicted man, a self-saboteur in many ways. He sought redemption and even the prestige of the Order of Malta just to loose it all shortly after miraculously obtaining it. He had a high concept of himself but debased himself with gusto. That someone as capable of the keenest and most vivid understanding of the miraculous could leave this trail of destruction is may be the most baffling idea, or may be it was the reason for the shunning of conventions all along. His last years in Malta, Naples and his death in Porto Ercole should be made into a movie. The book does a very competent job at following Michel Angelo Merisi di Carvaggio through his 38 short years of life. In any case, it makes this book a very compelling read.

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jul 13, 2012 Rob Atkinson rated it 5 of 5 stars

The best biography in print about this brilliant painter and troublesome character, especially strong on the aesthetic origins of his startlingly original compositional approach, and in the author's close analysis of all his known paintings (every one of which is pictured for reference, in color). Graham-Dixon sticks to the occasionally sparse historical record, nevertheless offering highly plausible, logical solutions to episodes in Caravaggio's life that have elicited wild speculation in other...more

like · see review

Jan 11, 2012 Brent marked it as to-read

Last year I chose 15 books from the New York Times 100 notable books of 2010 list. So far I've read 5 of them with reactions ranging from absolute hatred to tepid amusement. I can resist trying it again though, so this is my list of 15 books from the NYT notable books of 2011 list that I picked to add to my reading list:

Angel Esmeralda -- Don Delillo
Leftovers -- Tom Perrotta
Buddha In The Attic -- Julie Otsuka
The Last Werewolf -- Glen Duncan
Mr. Fox -- Helen Oyeyemi
Come On All You Ghosts -- Matthe...more

like · see review

Feb 09, 2013 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Luckily I was obsessed with this book while I was reading it- otherwise I might have gotten annoyed at how heavy and cumbersome it is. I really felt like I was part of a search through piles of old documents for who this guy really was, how he thought (all about the common man), how he lived (wildly), why he made these intensely cinematic paintings of people with dirty feet in dark, violent and transformative moments (many of which I remember seeing when I was in Rome), and how such a strong per...more

like · see review

Sep 10, 2012 Adele Fasick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

Caravaggio was not only a superb artist whose works have influenced other painters for three centuries, he was also a fascinating human being. Born near Milan, he grew up during the stern Catholic reformation movement in a city dominated by puritanical clerical forces. As Graham-Dixon tells his story, Caravaggio was almost self-educated as a painter yet somehow he developed a style of unmistakable power. His paintings use some of the techniques of modern film, spotlighting the central figures to...more

like · see review

Nov 11, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, history

This is a tremendous book about a tremendous talent. If you look at his work and then at the work of his fellow artists, there is no comparison.
There is a vibrancy, depth and excitement to Caravaggio's work that is lacking in the artists who held on to the tried and true.
Andrew Graham-Dixon does not expect his readers to be art critics. This author explains the times in which Caravaggio lived and explains his work without talking down to his readers. Graham-Dixon does not work to impress rea...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 25, 2012 Jeremy Garber rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: art

A fine illustration of what art history is supposed to be - a lovely, well-written study of Caravaggio's life at the macro and micro levels. The author paints Caravaggio as a violent 17th century "gangsta" (backed up by evidence and reasoning - he was probably a pimp!) who nonetheless displayed a tortured religious sensitivity in his art. Graham-Dixon goes all the way from papal and Italian politics to examining the significance of a bowl of fruit. I am not a professional art historian, so I can...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 07, 2012 Stuart Little rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a remarkable book. In the absence of much of a biographical
record, Carvaggio's life and edgy oeuvre have given rise to a
dissonant clamour of gossip, myths, legends, suspicions, fantasies,
and unsubtle interpretations. Graham-Dixon's achievement here is
to turn instead to the surrounding culture and ethos of the place
and time in which Caravaggio lived, and combine these with readings
of the paintings that are acutely sensitive and intelligent to shed
light on the man and his time. The result...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 26, 2013 Lynn Kellan rated it 4 of 5 stars

My fascination with Caravaggio began in my college art history class. His paintings were visceral, intense, and wholly unlike what most of his fellow artists produced. My professor claimed Caravaggio killed a man on a tennis court in Rome, and I always wanted to learn more.

This book provided a unique insider's view of what Caravaggio's personal and professional life was like. The author did a great job researching the facts, and I came away with a better understanding of how the political, relig...more

like · see review

May 06, 2012 Lauren Albert rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-autobiography, art-history-and-criticism

This book had the common flaws of biographies about people of whom little is known--speculation, filler and over-focus on their works (when they are artists and writers). The book could have been shorter and suffered less from all three. The filler was pages about events that had nothing to do with Caravaggio--I assume that they were meant to establish "milieu" but they were too long. An example is an extended passage from the trial after artist Artemisia Gentileschi's rape.

While I know that a...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 02, 2013 Hanley5545 Hanley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved it at every level, as history, as art history, as a deep and insightfull account of the late Renaissance and Counter Reformation and as a biography of an amazing yet deeply twisted "tormented" fellow. Reminded me of the life and Death of a like contemporary of his, Christopher Marlowe.

Sacred and Profane is well put....but as I recall the part of profane that is the "fane" comes from the classical word for the temple...ergo, that which is just outside the holy of most holy. Ego, Id, super e...more

like · see review

Apr 15, 2013 Jatan rated it 4 of 5 stars

A mammoth of a book, but nobody does Art History better than Graham-Dixon. I could talk about a thousand different aspects of the book that (at times) tickled, teased, stung and even grazed my palette; the testimony by Martin Scorsese towards the end of the book, however, takes the cake:

" I was instantly taken by the power of [Caravaggio's] pictures. Initially I related to them because of the moment that he chose to illuminate in the story. The Conversion of St Paul, Judith Beheading Holofernes:...more

like · see review

Jul 07, 2012 Pam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Pam by: NPR!

This was a fun book! It's primarily a biography of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, but I learned a lot about Italian history and some about greater European history too. The edition I have also has great plates which correspond to almost every reference he makes to a Caravaggio painting. I think this is necessary for the reader to fully understand the author's arguments, especially to the relatively uninitiated, like myself. This book is an excellent piece of art history. Graham-Dixon is a ca...more

like · see review

Mar 23, 2013 Bryn Donovan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

This is a big book and it took me a long time to read, not the least because I had to keep looking up every picture and artist mentioned online and stare at the paintings. The physical version of the book apparently has terrific reproductions, and I regret buying it on Kindle for my iPhone. :)

Graham-Dixon puts Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s art and life in the context of the politics, arts, religion, and culture of his time. I loved his discussions of the paintings, and the religious painti...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 22, 2013 Wessel van der Merwe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: art, biography

Very well researched - took some time to get into it but well written.
The author starts out to write the book like he is doing his doctor's thesis on Caravaggio and he finished it in the same style - would have passed in flying colours!
Insofar as Caravaggio is concerned - he was extremely gifted and influenced a whole generation of artists. Gifted but also very temperamental and why did he just had to love swords and knives? Although the author concluded that he was not mad, I am looking from th...more

like · see review

Apr 07, 2012 Marjorie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dense. The author does an exhaustive job presenting the painter Caravaggio in the context of his times and also interpreting his paintings. As an art historian, I could persevere, but I'd be interested to know how many people other than dedicated Caravaggio fans would finish the book.

The research is quite impressive and provides a window into late 16th and early 17th century Italian Catholic culture. I am glad I was not living there then. It was a horribly intolerant place and time. For readers...more

like · see review

Nov 28, 2012 Ash rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane was an impressive comprehensive guide on not only Caravaggio's life but all that happened around him. Such as the Catholic Reformation and key players involved during that time.

If I was in my Art History class, I would have love if my professor would have spent about a month on Caravaggio using this book. However, because I am not in Art History and was not require to read this book, I appreciated it more.

like · see review

Mar 21, 2012 Emily Miller rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was so fascinating. About art and the artist himself (arrogance, insecurity, fear, great talent and compulsive self-sabotage co-existing in one man), but also about daily life, religion, politics, and even food in Italy at the turn of the 16th Century. It reminded me of why I loved art history classes so much in college. It's a big book, but a page-turner. Highly recommend, if it's subject that interests you.

like · see review

Feb 23, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: art-artists, history

It took the author ten years to write, but the results are very well-written. Much of the existing documentary evidence of C's life is found in criminal records: he lived in a violent society and was as quick to quarrel as everyone else. The sordid details are balanced by close and very sympathetic readings of the paintings, which reveal a brilliant and singular talent, and a man painfully aware of his grievous faults.
Carravaggio was only 38 when he died.

1 like · like · see review

Sep 06, 2012 Fritz Ptasynski rated it 5 of 5 stars

Caravaggio was the definition of genius. This amazing artist never drew a single layout...he just started painting! And what paintings they are; he is the first real 'modern' painter, and like so many great artists, it took years before his genius was recognized. A great biography by an author who knows how to look at paintings. Definitely worth reading...but then I love to read about art!

like · see review

Feb 08, 2013 Andrea Arbit rated it 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this book already knowing quite a bit about Caravaggio's works and life from my art history minor (and trips to Italy). Though at times a bit long, I still felt like I got something new and worthwhile out of this book, which posited new ideas (Caravaggio was a pimp!) I hadn't before heard, as well as fleshed out the details of the murder he committed and the situation around his own early demise (which I'd only heard about briefly in class). Because he led such a fascinating, fast-pa...more

like · see review

Apr 15, 2013 Amy Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

I utterly love Andrew G-D. He has been my idol since first watching him in Art History class, so when I saw he had written a book about my all time favourite artist I went bananas. I put off reading it because I didn't want it to be over. It's been sitting on my bookshelf since it came out in paperback, at which point I was ploughing through Peter Robb's rather conceited and overbearingly facetious biography of the painter. However, this book was amazing. It is so readable (I could hear G-D talk...more

like · see review

May 24, 2012 Neil Novesky rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fine account of 16th and early 17th Century world, particular of the artisan. A basic interest in the period and art history is a pre-requisite to an honest reading of this book. If you can permit yourself the time and curiosity, you feel like you have taken a course (with a great professor) when your finished.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 12, 2012 Greg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a bit of a crime novel and a biography. It's amazing how many 400-year-old public records have been preserved. Most of the public records mentioned in this book are court records, and Caravaggio certainly had a lot of those due to his belligerent and scandalous behavior.

I was as interested in the portrait of society in Italy circa 1600 as in Caravaggio's adventurous life. This was during the Counter Reformation when the Catholic church was trying to reassert itself after Italy was...more

like · see review

Apr 05, 2013 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction-art

I bought this because I find the author's television programmes on art more accessible than most and I was not disappointed with this book, which has given me a better insight into the artist and his art. It is not however an easy read unless you are already familiar with this period of art history.

like · see review

May 28, 2012 Richard Magahiz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, read-in-2012

Biography as a sort of detective work, piecing together hints and scraps from 400 years' distance of one of the most unconventional and influential of the Italian Old Masters. He gives a convincing account of a man who lived on the edge of decent society while yearning for accolades from the aristocracy. Some of the guesswork needed is frustrating, and the reader has to spend a considerable amount of time straining to see the details described in the little reproductions of all the paintings, bu...more

like · see review

Feb 24, 2013 Jenn rated it 3 of 5 stars

would have given this five stars if the publishing company had proofed their printing. pages 197 to 223 were missing and then a 30 page chunk repeated itself further on! still, an art history book that reads like a crime thriller is a rare thing!

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 56 57 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (10)

More editions...

Videos About This Book

Add a comment

Genres

Biography

51 users

Art

36 users

Non Fiction

27 users

History

25 users

Art > Art History

8 users

Cultural > Italy

6 users

Biography Memoir

3 users

Literature > 17th Century

2 users

Reference

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Andrew Graham-Dixon

Andrew Graham-Dixon has presented six landmark series on art for the BBC, including the acclaimed A History of British Art, Renaissance and Art of Eternity, as well as numerous individual documentaries on art and artists. For more than twenty years he has published a weekly column on art, first in the Independent and, more recently, in the Sunday Telegraph. He has written a number of acclaimed boo...more

More about Andrew Graham-Dixon...

Books by Andrew Graham-Dixon

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Caravaggio: A Lif...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane
avg rating	preview: Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane Goodreads rating: 4.09 (396 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7558367-caravaggio?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1277754873l/7558367.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7558367-caravaggio?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon[/url]

Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website