Caravaggio

Lasting merely 14 years - from his arrival in Rome in 1596 to his mysterious death in Porto Ercole in 1610 - Caravaggio's career as an artist reached dizzying heights with lucrative commissions before spiralling downward as he was pursued for debts, disorderly conduct and eventually homicide. This monograph presents the most up-to-date narrative of the life of the artist - told through his most iconic works accompanied by commentary - in which his turbulent essence shines through.New details of Caravaggio's life are coming to light at the same time as more of his paintings are being discovered and technically analysed. His most famous and dramatic works such as iThe Entombment of Christ/i, iThe Calling of Saint Matthew/i, iYoung Sick Bacchus/i and more are accompanied by fresh analyses scrutinising the iconography, formal properties and semiotics of each scene. Each work is also flanked by specific technical-diagnostic notes that integrate themselves into the reading of his extraordinary paintings.brMichelangelo Merisi, known as bCaravaggio/b (1571-1610), was born in Milan. His early commissions included works for Cardinal Francesca Maria del Monte and the Contarelli Chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi. From 1600 to 1606 he was considered the most famous painter in Rome. After killing a wealthy young man he fled the city, still painting but on the run as a criminal. He died under mysterious circumstances in 1610.