Started: March 7
Finished: March 29
Notes: Being that Caravaggio is one of my favorite artists, I was quite thrilled a little more than a decade ago when I heard on the radio (probably NPR) an interview with the author of this biography talking about this very book. I decided I must have this book, but then time passed and I forgot about it. Fast forward a few years and I ran across this book in a bookstore. Of course I snagged it up. But that's been nearly a decade ago. Finally I'm getting around to it. I know some basics of the life of Caravaggio, but I'm looking forward to learning much more.
Mini review: Caravaggio's life is a perfect example of Jesus' quote in Matthew 26:52, "for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword." A gifted artist, a man who could have had it all, Caravaggio's ego (and more than likely more than a little alcohol) took ahold of his life far too often and led him into a world of debauchery and violence. I mean none of this as a spiritual judgement upon the man himself, because I do respect him and his work. In truth, Caravaggio is one o my favorite artists, his use of darkness and light to exemplify specific scenes, his use of common folk to represent historical and mythological figures, all of it I appreciate. But he died at 38 in mysterious circumstances, most likely due to a wound he had received to his face during a fracas. He could have done so much more if he had lived, and he could have done so much more if he had lived a life less full of conflict he too often brought upon himself. But then he wouldn't have been true to himself and wouldn't have been the artist he had been.
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