Caravaggio, or more accurately Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), was a legend even in his own lifetime. Notorious bad boy of Italian painting, the artist was at once celebrated and controversial: Violent in temper, precise in technique, a creative master, and a man on the run.

This edition offers a comprehensive reassessment of Caravaggio's entire oeuvre with a catalogue raisonne of his works. Each painting is reproduced with recent, high production photography allowing for dramatic close-ups with Caravaggio's ingenious details of looks and gestures.

Five introductory chapters analyze Caravaggio's artistic career from his early struggle to make a living, through his first public commissions in Rome, and his growing celebrity status. They look at his increasing daring with lighting and with a boundary-breaking naturalism which allowed even biblical events to unfold with an unprecedented immediacy before the viewer.

About the Author
Sebastian Schutze was a longtime research fellow at the Bibliotheca Hertziana (Max Planck Institute for Art History) in Rome. He is a member of the academic board of the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici in Naples, and a member of the OEsterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. From 2003 to 2009 he held the Bader Chair in Southern Baroque Art at Queen's University in Kingston. In 2009 he was appointed professor of early modern art history at Vienna University.

Reviews
"The pictures come across as so real that leafing through this book, the reader almost smells the oil paint. Every page is a pleasure for the senses." * NDR Kultur *
"This book is an artwork unto itself-perfect for Italian Renaissance aficionados." * Die Welt *
"The reproductions are excellent, the details often breathtakingly vivid..." * The Royal Academy Magazine *



Book Information
ISBN 9783836587969
Author Sebastian Schutze
Format Hardback
Page Count 512
Imprint Taschen GmbH
Publisher Taschen GmbH
Weight(grams) 1110g