Caravaggio: Painter of Miracles (Eminent Lives)

I'm currently writing a non-fiction book that involves a fake Caravaggio. As part of my research, I read a half dozen books about the controversial artist. This one is at once the shortest and--for my purposes--the most informative. In it, Ms. Prose--what a great name for a writer--takes us on a chronological journey of all the known Caravaggio works. In doing so, she not only describes the artist's works but also his peripatetic life. Part art lecture, part history, part biography, The Painter of Miracles helped me understand how and why a forger might be compelled to fake a masterpiece.

Great short biography. I remember seeing Caravaggio's painting when I traveled through Europe (including the cover painting) and while I was very captivated, until I read this book, I knew nothing of the painters kind of mad life. Adventure.

Caravaggio was a rowdy delinquent in his youth and a rowdy volatile adult. He was also a inventive and popular painter in his time, whose artistic reputation waned and has been restored. Francine Prose writes of him in an accessible and very readable way. She's a first rate fiction writer as her main avocation not an art critic, and she uses her storytelling skills to great effect. There is also a wonderful brief portrait of the times in which Caravaggio lived. Very pleasing read.

Francine Prose knows how to look at paintings. She knows yet better how to put in words her knowledge sentiments and insight. Therefore this book is so nice to read, to study and to enjoy. For all lovers of the art of Caravaggio it is a must

Francine Prose writes well and with a light ironic touch but this slim volume adds little to what we already know about Caravaggio. At a little over 100 pages and with only a handful of color illustrations the book amounts to little more than an extended essay of Ms. Prose's reactions to Caravaggio's major works. There are very many better books showing the paintings and Prose doesn't go into the camera obscura technique that Caravaggio undoubtedly used, giving his paintings an almost photo-realistic representation of his subjects.That Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a brawler with a passion for picking fights worthy of "Fight Club" who combined erratic behavior with some sublime paintings is hardly an insight. A much better treatment of the life and psychology of the artist appears in Peter Robb's 1998 "M: The Man who Became Caravaggio" which curiously is unreferenced by Prose.Although Prose notes that Caravaggio broke away from the stylized poses and unearthly lighting of the mannerists, I don't think she clearly explains his genius.

Excellent writing and an excellent view of Caravaggio! I highly recommend it!

Francine Prose gets Caravaggio better than most art historians. She says-"The life of Caravaggio is the closest thing we have to the myth of the sinner-saint, the street tough, the martyr, the killer, the genius- the myth that in these jaded and secular times, we are almost ashamed to admit that we still long for, and need."

Very nice little volume. Well written in an engaging and entertaining fashion.

I found this book to be well written and very engaging, giving me an overview of Caravaggio’s life and work.