Caravaggio: The Head & The Load

Amazing print of the paintings made hy caravaggio. I study old master paintings a lot and was looking forward to buying this book. It's a great one.

You might be interested in the life and works of the bad boy of baroque art. Taschen Basic art series books help you to understand the very basic philosophy and politics of an artist's life and the development of his or her works. Considering this book as no exception, 'Caravaggio' floods with the facts of his short and happening life and plethora of reproductions of his works. very good read for primary understanding of the Michelangelo of baroque art.

rico.

Buen producto, me encantó

Taschen siempre cumple en libros de arte, inmejorable excepto la calidad del encuadernado que podría mejorar

Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610) was in a class of his own, "Every one of his works raised a scandal." "De Caravaggio" was tagged on to his name because that was the village where he was born. He was almost forgotten, given that he only signed one of his paintings that we know of. The rest are attributed by historical records and examination of style, brushstrokes, etc. In this book, Gilles Lambert gives us an overview of Caravaggio's works and a run-down of his short and highly eventful life. I was looking for a book without "art speak", an art book for the layman which would really give me a flavor of the artist. This is the 3rd book in the Taschen Art 2.0 series I've purchased, and, once again, I am pleased. This is not a complete collection of Caravaggio's paintings, but it still gives us a lot. I counted 25 full-page photos of his paintings (including details), 10 photos smaller than full-page and 18 photos that spread over one page. There's also another 22 photos of art by others (for comparison purposes), illustrations etc. When thinking of my favorite artists, Caravaggio is not among them. But, that said, he had an amazing style. His "The Vocation of Saint Matthew" is astounding. Here is a man who is stoically resisting the call to ministry. You can feel his tension, his reluctance, his seeming foreknowledge that this will be the end of him. My favorite painting, I think, is "Daniel With the Head of Goliath". Look at David's expression. This is a lad who has killed someone for the first time, and he's not particularly feeling like a hero about it. Caravaggio modeled the face of Goliath on his own. Perhaps deliberate, that, because at the time Caravaggio was exiled, and trying to paint his way back into Rome's good graces. For a visual presentation of Caravaggio's life, I highly recommend Simon Schama's Power of Art which has a very interesting episode about Caravaggio. Nicely done, 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Happy Reader

Fascinating read, great print quality.