Caravaggio (Colour Library) [Hardcover]

Catherine Puglisi (Author)

Book Description

Series: Colour Library | Publication Date: November 1998

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) has been rescued from neglect to emerge as something of a cult figure, celebrated both for his boldly original art and for his short, violent and troubled life. Catherine Puglisi brings much research together to provide a comprehensive monograph on the artist's life and work. Caravaggio was the most innovative painter of his time, and one of the greatest artists of any age. Controversial in his own lifetime, and notorious for this arrogance and violent character, he lived the last four years of his life in exile after committing murder. Yet he was always protected by influential patrons who admired the bold realism and originality of his art. His sexually provocative nude figures and his dramatically composed and brilliantly lit religious paintings have a psychological power and an undiminished capacity to shock and disturb after almost four centuries. Recent archive research and historical investigations have produced much new information about Caravaggio and his milieu, while cleaning, technical investigation and new discoveries have literally shed light on the paintings. Making use of all this new material, Catherine Puglisi has produced a comprehensive monograph. All Caravaggio's works are discussed and illustrated in colour and full use is made of the latest documentation to present a portrait of the artist.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

As Catherine Puglisi points out in the most beautiful Caravaggio book ever, the soulful, tormented, ethereally talented painter has become a pop icon, with a "full-blown industry of Caravaggio publications." Puglisi's book is a standout in this crowded field. With remarkable evenhandedness, she sifted through the scholarship and discoveries--and the trash--of the past 20 years and wrote a Caravaggio book that does justice to the painter's glorious work. She doesn't skimp on the juicy parts of his life, however: she candidly but coolly recounts and appraises the bits of historical evidence for his sexuality (both hetero and homo), his use of whores and ruffians as models, and his many scrapes with the law. All the while, she focuses the reader on the paintings, aptly describing such naturalistic, groundbreaking works as The Calling of St. Matthew, of 1599.

Gazing at the large, double-page color plates in Puglisi's book, it is easy to feel the erotic pull of the many early canvasses of supple youths that have been so widely reproduced in recent years. But the later religious pictures, in which the models for the saints and Madonnas still seem almost palpable in their reality, have the most dramatic magnetism. Rest on the Flight into Egypt is particularly moving. It may never be possible to unravel the tangled web of Caravaggio's life, but Puglisi manages to restore a welcome balance to our view of his art. --Peggy Moorman

From Library Journal

Neither the pedantic obscurantism nor the lurid biographical preoccupations that have marred recent studies of Caravaggio are present in this excellent opus. Puglisi's (art history, Rutgers Univ.) comprehensive overview covers what is known about the master with an unusually sensible and sensitive appreciation of the paintings and their place within his stylistic development. Caravaggio is insightfully situated in his art historical ambience, the paintings linked to a nexus of artistic influences. Refreshingly, the incisive iconographic explications of the paintings are articulated as expressions of the patrons' requirements and not as manifestations of the artist's psychological duress. A checklist of the master's oeuvre, an examination of his technique, and a selection of translated documents further enhance this exemplary study. Unusually fine and complete reproductions of the paintings and a plethora of comparative works complement the text. The elegant integration of biographical narrative, formal and intellectual characterization, and lavish illustration come together in what is now the best introduction to this pivotal figure.ARobert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714834165
• ISBN-13: 978-0714834160
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.7 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,265,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thorough Investigation of the Genius of Caravaggio, December 4, 2005

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Caravaggio (Colour Library) (Hardcover)

Dr. Catherine Puglisi is not only a fine scholar, well informed about her subject, she is also a fine writer. CARAVAGGIO is a richly produced heavy volume (hardcover reviewed) that spreads the text throughout the course of the book as each of the points about the artist's life and technique and gifts to art history is explored.

The color plates are reproduced with clarity and two-page extensions of the larger horizontal works aid the reader in gaining perspective. Multiple images of details offer close examination of Caravaggio's technique, a manner that continues to influence representational artists today.

Puglisi gratefully does not shy away from the controversial aspects of Caravaggio's life and sexuality. She deals with the facts and presents them in context with his concurrent paintings. The volume includes an exceptionally fine body of appendices that offers a complete checklist of the paintings including small reproductions of some, a terse bibliography, and a series of extracts from the myriad sources from which Puglisi extracted information.

The one criticism of this book, and it is a significant one, is the small type font in the pale gray ink selected by a designer who seems more concerned with 'making a pretty book' than in respecting the written word! But in the end this is a definitive volume about one of art history's more interesting and gifted painters. Grady Harp, December 05

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A valuable contribution but print is hard to read., September 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Caravaggio (Colour Library) (Hardcover)

I have been looking for recent books on Caravaggio for use in an art history class that I will give this Spring. I've done "spot" reading of this text, and found fascinating insights. However, it is hard for me to understand why such difficult to read silvery grey text was used. Perhaps younger eyes than mine would not have problems with this choice. However, my eyes rebelled rapidly, and although fascinated with the message, the medium proved exhausting. The font choice and size are also, in my opinion, poor ones. I suppose the aim was to produce a beauiful book, and it is that, but in my opinion the book's function of transmitting information is undercut by the odd typography design.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and informative, January 19, 2000

By 

Charlise Tiee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Caravaggio (Colour Library) (Hardcover)

The lavish reproductions of Caravaggio's work here are reason enough to get this lovely book. The text is engrossing, and can be easily read in 1-2 weeks. Caravaggio's life and work are both dealt with very well by Catherine Puglisi, and the writing is quite good. On the other hand, the silvery text is pretty, but clearly not functional for people with less than good sight. The book is also on the smallish side (Phaidon does not seem to make the really huge books like Abbeville or Abrams).