"Matching gorgeous prose to gorgeous artworks, Prose responds to each image as a moment of theatrical revelation, sensual or spiritual, and frequently both." — Boston Sunday Globe

In Caravaggio, New York Times bestselling author Francine Prose offers an enthralling account of the life and work of one of the greatest painters of all time. Caravaggio defied the aesthetic conventions of his time; his use

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Artemisia Gentileschi, growing up in a family of all-male painters, dreams of becoming a great artist in 1611 Rome and completes lesson after lesson until a mysterious tutor threatens her honor and virtue and she is put on trial.

Secluded within cloister walls, a painter and a monk, and brother of the order of the Dominicans, Angelico devoted his life to religious paintings. Little is known of his early life except that he was born at Vicchio, in the broad fertile valley of the Mugello, not far from Florence, that his name was Guido de Pietro, and that he passed his youth in Florence, probably in some bottegha, for at twenty he was recognized as a painter. In 1418, he entered...

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Renaissance art with Bernard Berenson's authoritative and insightful book, "The Italian Painters of the Renaissance." Renowned as one of the foremost art historians of the 20th century, Berenson offers a profound and comprehensive analysis of the artists and masterpieces that defined this golden age of creativity and innovation. In "The Italian Painters of the Renaissance," Berenson meticulously examines...

"Artists flock here, not just for wealth and fame, but for revolutionary color. Yet artist Giorgione "Zorzo" Barbarelli's career hangs in the balance. Competition is fierce, and his debts are piling up. When Zorzo hears a rumor of a mysterious new pigment, brought to Venice by the richest man in Europe, he sets out to acquire the color and secure his name in history. Winning a commission to paint a portrait of the man's wife, Sybille, Zorzo thinks...

A British art critic and historian describes the painter's artistic achievements and volatile life during the Counter-Reformation in Italy which included public brawls, murder, sexual escapades, and imprisonment in Malta.

Italian artist Raphael created paintings and frescoes and also worked as an architect during the Renaissance. This biography discusses Raphael's childhood, early artwork, commissions, patrons such as the Catholic Church and the Medici family, frescoes for the Vatican, work as an architect of St. Peter's Basilica, tapestry designs for the Sistine Chapel, workshop, and artistic rivalries and competitions. Sidebars, a glossary, an index, and a phonetics...

A celebrated painter receives a visit from a cardinal's assistant, who informs him that his mother could become a saint.

Along with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, Raphael ranks among the most important masters of art history. This volume presents his most significant and finest drawings and paintings and, in doing so, provides an overview of the various periods of his career: from the early Umbrian period (until 1504) and the years in Florence (1504-1508) to the Roman period (1508-1520). Based on this wealth of material, the volume examines Raphael's design methods...