Caravaggio. the Complete Works. 45th Ed. - (40th Edition) by Sebastian Schütze (Hardcover)

About the Book

The notorious bad boy of Italian painting is now considered one of the greatest masters in art history. This neat catalogue raisonné reproduces all of Caravaggio's paintings as well as a number of details of his boundary-breaking realism. Five chapters assess his artistic achievements while a detailed chronology traces his dramatic personal life.

Book Synopsis

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 raisonné 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.

Review Quotes

"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"

"The reproductions are excellent, the details often breathtakingly vivid..."-- "The Royal Academy Magazine"

"This book is an artwork unto itself--perfect for Italian Renaissance aficionados."-- "Die Welt"