I just purchased this book based on previous reviews. One disappointment I have with it is the cropped paintings or paintings with the seem slicing through them. It's frustrating as a student of the arts to try and copy the tiny details out of the bindings. Aside from that, I am glad I bought it. The works inside are fantastic.

This is an excellent book. The pictures are amazing! and the explanation is precise. I give it 5 stars!

I did so look forward to receiving this book greedily unwrapping it as soon as it arrived. I'm a huge fan of Caravaggio and having seen many of his paintings in situ I was eager for any new information. Unfortunately I'm one of the people who can't read the small silver text on glossy white paper. When I say "can't read" I mean that within about two minutes all of the little silver words on the page just dissolve into whiteness. I agree it looks pretty but perhaps that combination of ink and paper might best be reserved for an invitation to a Winter Solstice dinner and not used in an obviously superb book such as this one. Catherine Puglisi was done a terrible dis-service in the design of this book. The quality of the photographs of the paintings (and the quantity) are fantastic and I have enjoyed them immensely. Maybe the paper version is black on white but I sure don't like to have buy the same book twice. I'm giving two stars to what is probably a five star book.

Dr. Catherine Puglisi is not only a fine scholar, well informed about her subject, she is also a fine writer. CARAVAGGIO is a richly produced heavy volume (hardcover reviewed) that spreads the text throughout the course of the book as each of the points about the artist's life and technique and gifts to art history is explored.

The color plates are reproduced with clarity and two-page extensions of the larger horizontal works aid the reader in gaining perspective. Multiple images of details offer close examination of Caravaggio's technique, a manner that continues to influence representational artists today.

Puglisi gratefully does not shy away from the controversial aspects of Caravaggio's life and sexuality. She deals with the facts and presents them in context with his concurrent paintings. The volume includes an exceptionally fine body of appendices that offers a complete checklist of the paintings including small reproductions of some, a terse bibliography, and a series of extracts from the myriad sources from which Puglisi extracted information.

The one criticism of this book, and it is a significant one, is the small type font in the pale gray ink selected by a designer who seems more concerned with 'making a pretty book' than in respecting the written word! But in the end this is a definitive volume about one of art history's more interesting and gifted painters. Grady Harp, December 05

Anything showing photos of this fellow's incredible oevre would probably deserve the highest praise even without editorial guidance. But just browsing thru this one will stun anyone not familiar with Caravaggio, which is probably 98% of the populace.Ms. Puglisi interweaves the artist's life and times around the glorious color photos. The print may be a tad small,but the fact that there's around two spaces between each line of text makes it, IMHO, even easier to read than otherwise. The raw,harrowing originality of this artist are beyond description, and his life is a near match. He died violently before the age of 40...Especially recommended for those (mainly males) who may think that Art and Art History are less than manly pursuits!! (Yes there are plenty of guys out there who think like this.) Give this book, the author,publisher, and the artist way more than five stars!!