Read This Book....Especially When In Rome!

You know how I feel about fine art.  I was not always the biggest fan.  But I've made strides on this score, and -- in contrast to my failings with regard to Italian language -- my art knowledge and appreciation have increased dramatically.

Even before this year, however, I always had a thing for Caravaggio.  I've always found his paintings to be just so damn dramatic.  They have always grabbed me.  Caravaggio, A Life Sacred and Profane by Andrew Graham-Dixon is a superb biography of Caravaggio.

The book not only provides excellent explanations about Caravaggio's most significant masterpieces.  It also offers a pretty gripping account of the painter's life, and all the turmoil and dark events in his life. I'm actually not done with the book yet, but I'm 90% done and have no qualms about recommending it. The thing you have to do, moreover, is to read it the next time you're in Roma.

For one thing, many of Caravaggio's classic paintings are in Rome.  Many of them are in fact in churches in the center of the city, where they are free and available for viewing every day.  It is amazing to be reading about one of Caravaggio's finest, and to then take a 5-minute walk to the very church that houses the painting.  It really enhances the reading.

On top of that, Caravaggio lived an incredibly interesting (and short) life that was full or sordid details.  Graham-Dixon describes lots of the most intriguing events and writes about the streets of Rome where the events took place.  The streets are still around today, and most of them are in the center.  You can picture so much more about the dramatic events in Caravaggio's life when you see and understand the geography of where the events took place.

So, I recommend this book.  But I especially recommend reading it during your next trip to Rome.  (It helps too if you're here for several months -- the book is long.)