Caravaggio

Art critic, historian, writer, TV presenter, politician and professional provocateur, Vittorio Sgarbi is a prominent figure in Italy's cultural landscape. Controversial, often caustic, and always charismatic, his thought-provoking opinions and writings leave no room for indifference. In this highly readable and well-informed book, Sgarbi covers the life and works of Caravaggio, analyzing the genius's disordered and adventurous existence and the revolutionary greatness of his masterpieces. As Vittorio Sgarbi writes in the book: "The life and work of an artist always end up looking alike; but in Caravaggio's life there was a sense of fun, an enjoyment of burlesque and a lack of propriety that is not reflected even in his in most daring works. In Caravaggio, we had the cohabitation of a sophisticated, intellectual capable of imprinting an ideal turning point in the course of history and the principal character of an adventure story-quarrelsome, overbearing, cursed-as he was portrayed in romantic interpretations. On the other hand, his intemperance cannot be ascribed to the spirit of the times; behavior that we would call extravagant today was instead common in such violent and difficult times. The true greatness of Caravaggio lay in his having shown the other, and indeed authentic side of reality. But these are external elements, psychological reflections that pass from life into art."