Caravaggio

"Matching gorgeous prose to gorgeous artworks, Prose responds to each image as a moment of theatrical revelation, sensual or spiritual, and frequently both." — Boston Sunday Globe

In Caravaggio, New York Times bestselling author Francine Prose offers an enthralling account of the life and work of one of the greatest painters of all time.

Caravaggio defied the aesthetic conventions of his time; his use of ordinary people, realistically portrayed—street boys, prostitutes, the poor, the aged—was a profound and revolutionary innovation that left its mark on generations of artists. His insistence on painting from nature, on rendering the emotional truth of experience, whether religious or secular, made him an artist who speaks across the centuries to modern day.

Called "racy, intensely imagined, and highly readable" by the New York Times Book Review, Caravaggio includes eight pages of color illustrations, and is sure to appeal to art enthusiasts interested in one of history's true innovators. Caravaggio is part of the "Eminent Lives" series from HarperCollins, a selection of biographies by distinguished authors on canonical figures.

While his art is immortal, his life was a whirlwind of genius, violence, and exile.

• A Revolutionary Realism: See how Caravaggio defied convention by using prostitutes, street boys, and the poor as his models for saints and martyrs, forever changing the face of religious art.
• The Sinner-Saint: Explore the paradox of a man whose divine masterpieces were created amidst a life of brawls, duels, and exile.
• Art and Crime: Delve into the dramatic story of a celebrated artist who was also a fugitive, wanted for murder and constantly on the run from the law.
• An Enduring Legacy: Discover why this master painter, ignored for centuries, now speaks with such power to the modern world in this compelling work of art history.