M: The Man Who Became Caravaggio

Peter Robb has managed to achieve a miraculous symphony in this long (500 + pages) book: It's a biography, a detective story (little is known about Caravaggio's life), a social history of Rome, and a definitive art book. As a result, you can read this book on many levels. I read it first as a "beach book" for the story, and then again, when I took a vacation to Rome and tried to see as many of his remaining paintings as I could.Robb explains how Caravaggio was a breakthrough painter in his use of light, and in his use of recognizable local models (almost all of whom Robb has been able to identify) to express the religious art of the day. Mannerism died at his hands.Moreover, Peter Robb builds a credible portrait of Caravaggio's brittle personality--it's easy to see why people were out to kill him. At first I thought the title "M" was a little contrived, but by the end of the book, I realized that it's cipher for the real man behind the familiar name. (Calling someone "Caravaggio" after the town is like giving someone the nickname "Boston").The reproductions are carefully chosen and richly presented. You'll enjoy reading--and re-reading--this wonderful book.

The art of Caravaggio has always stopped me in my tracks. Peter Robb's book, M: The Man Who Became Caravaggio, help me understand why so many people were affected this way. It's not just the way he tells the story of Caravaggio's life, but how he infuses the paintings with the painter. It's not only the sketchy outline of his life, it is the times in which he lived, the city in which he lived, the people who lived there with him, and the places which are still standing, as they were in the start of the seventeenth century. If you were REQUIRED to take an art history course in college, and you have broken out in hives whenever you approached a masterpiece ever since, then this is the cure.

The literary style was a blast, the closest we will ever get to an art biography penned by James Ellroy. I subtracted the star because some of the biographical speculations made by the author have now been proven be inaccurate elsewhere. Don't be dissuaded by stuffy reviews...It's a hell of a lot of fun and need not be definitive to be worthy of a look.

Peter Robb brings to life the history of Caravaggio. He not only provides the facts, he paints a picture of the reality of this 16th century painter. From an academic approach I found Caravaggio to be much more coherent through Robb's writing than through the traditional methodologies in contemporary art history. Robb has produced an amazing recreation of the life of the Baroque period's greatest artist. I would recommend this Caravaggio tell all journey to anyone who wants to understand the artist on a much deeper level.

In short, a well-researched and interesting book written in a virtually impossible-to-read style. Caravaggio's life holds your attention, but the double-contractions, lack of punctuation and single-character reference to Caravaggio as 'M' (including such mechanical feats as "M'd've" (i.e. "Caravaggio would have" (I think.)) make for an unnecessarily long read. Robb's insight into Caravaggio's style is impressive, but hampered by the lack of plates in the book (only 8 full works). (I was driven to use a second book as a reference.) Perhaps Robb was attempting a fresh and realistic take on the English language- much like Caravaggio's take on art. A second printing after a good editing could make _this work_ a masterpiece.

Excellent bio and a great analysis skill by the author. i read many separated documents on the subject and I notice how well constructed is everything in this book and fits what documents and sources tell. Highly recommended

Riveting book about the life of a great and fundamentally influential painter. As one art critic put it, "There was painting before Caravaggio and there was painting after Caravaggio."

very good read!