The Guardian of Mercy
How an Extraordinary Painting by Caravaggio Changed an Ordinary Life Today
Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Individual Artist, Art History, Biography & Memoir, Historical
| Author: | Terence Ward | ISBN: | 9781628726305 |
| Publisher: | Skyhorse Publishing | Publication: | February 9, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Arcade Publishing | Language: | English |
| Author: | Terence Ward |
| ISBN: | 9781628726305 |
| Publisher: | Skyhorse Publishing |
| Publication: | February 9, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Arcade Publishing |
| Language: | English |
A captivating study of Renaissance art imitating the life of the artist in “a rich tapestry that intricately weaves the story of an iconic painter” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Now celebrated as one of the great painters of the Renaissance, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio fled Rome in 1606 to escape retribution for killing a man in a brawl. Three years later he was in Naples, where he painted his singular masterwork The Seven Acts of Mercy. A year later he died at the age of thirty-eight under mysterious circumstances.
Here, Terence Ward offers an incredible narrative journey into the heart of Caravaggio’s artistry and his journey from fugitive to visionary.
Ward’s guide in this journey is a contemporary artist whose own life was transformed by the painting—a simple man named Angelo who shows him where it still hangs in a small church in Naples and whose story helps him see its many layers.
As Ward unfolds the structure of the painting, he explains each of the seven mercies and their influence on Caravaggio’s troubled life, which traversed the social strata of Naples from the lowest ranks of poverty to the gilded halls of aristocracy.
Fusing elements of history, biography, memoir, travelogue, and journalism, this narrative of a life redeemed by art is “a refreshing look at a once-forgotten—but now much-celebrated—artistic genius” (Kirkus**Reviews).
A captivating study of Renaissance art imitating the life of the artist in “a rich tapestry that intricately weaves the story of an iconic painter” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Now celebrated as one of the great painters of the Renaissance, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio fled Rome in 1606 to escape retribution for killing a man in a brawl. Three years later he was in Naples, where he painted his singular masterwork The Seven Acts of Mercy. A year later he died at the age of thirty-eight under mysterious circumstances.
Here, Terence Ward offers an incredible narrative journey into the heart of Caravaggio’s artistry and his journey from fugitive to visionary.
Ward’s guide in this journey is a contemporary artist whose own life was transformed by the painting—a simple man named Angelo who shows him where it still hangs in a small church in Naples and whose story helps him see its many layers.
As Ward unfolds the structure of the painting, he explains each of the seven mercies and their influence on Caravaggio’s troubled life, which traversed the social strata of Naples from the lowest ranks of poverty to the gilded halls of aristocracy.
Fusing elements of history, biography, memoir, travelogue, and journalism, this narrative of a life redeemed by art is “a refreshing look at a once-forgotten—but now much-celebrated—artistic genius” (Kirkus**Reviews).
