Caravaggio (1571 – 1610): A Genius Beyond his Time, by Gilles Lambert

Caravaggio (1571 – 1610): A Genius Beyond his Time, by Gilles Lambert. 2007 Taschen softcover. 96 pages, very nice condition.

Notorious bad boy of Italian Baroque painting, Caravaggio is finally getting the recognition he deserves. Though his name may be familiar to all of us, his work had been habitually detested and forced into obscurity. Not only was his theatrical realism unfashionable in his time, but his sacrilegious subject matter and use of lower-class models were violently scorned. Caravaggio’s great work had the misfortune of enduring centuries of disrepute. It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that he was rediscovered and, quite posthumously, deemed a great master. He is now considered the most important painter of the early Baroque period; without him there would have been no Ribera, Zurbarán, Velázquez, Vermeer or Georges de La Tour. Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Delacroix, and Manet would have been different.

The book features a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his cultural and historical importance, a concise biography, and approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions.