Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating read
Review: A wonderful introduction to a monumental artist. Robb provides some fascinating insight into Caravaggio's rebellion against Neo-Platonism. The book's greatest failing (for which I knocked off one star) is that it would have been greatly enhanced by more color plates referencing the paintings discussed. On the other hand, the book *is* well over 500 pages already...
Rating: 
Summary: All history should be written like this...
Review: After years of sitting through droning art history classes Peter Robb finally writes the book that all histories could be modeled on- He gives us the dirt. The culture M made his art in and for is explained for us in great detail, especially the political climate of Rome at the turn of the seventeenth century and all that implied for artists and churchmen alike. Mr. Robb does not hesitate to discuss the seamier aspects of Italian life in this period and it's consequences on M's career. His analysis of the painters career and the development of his work is truly inspired. The research is painstaking, and combined with a deep understanding of human nature Mr. Robb has produced a fascinating and informative work. An absolute requirement for all art historians and painters. You'll need a catologue of the paintings to look at as you read; The book is barely illustrated. So... I was just blown away. Of course I'm a painter and am just enthralled by art history.
Rating:
Summary: M: The Troublemaker
Review: As an artist and and art lover, I picked up this book to learn more about the artist who painted some of the most amazing paintings of his time. I got the chance to see many of them in small run-down chapels in Rome when I was there- I had the idea from his images that Carravagio was, like many artists, a tortured genius who was secretive and misunderstood in his time. I got a kick out of reading this book because exactly the opposite is true. Carravagio was a constant troublemaker- a guy who couldn't stay away from brawls, duels and other forms of trechery dispite the fact that his images made him famous in his time. Those who knew him and were forced to deal with him found him to be a difficult person, but an amazing artist- Peter Robb went to great lengths to get inside the head of this individual, who's life remains a mystery dispite his fame. From his humble beginings to his mysterious death, Robb draws on discriptions from the writings of his contemporaries and the police records from the city of Rome.
Though the book starts slowly and takes some time to get into, you will be amazed to know the circumstances surrounding this firey character and his beautiful images. It is well worth the read-
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: At the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, life in Rome was a pretty chancy business, especially if you were an artist without powerful support. Or if you were an artist who was pushing the boundaries and showing up your contemporaries. Carravagio, or Michelangelo Merisi was such an artist. Peter Robb has used every bit of the available evidence and M's own work to create a biography that reads like a thriller, written in a quick contemporary style, which makes the reader realise how difficult it must have been to please all the powers in the Rome of the day. In your face describes both Peter Robb's style and M's life. The reader is asked to share the writer's excitement and enthusiasm in a book which is a dialogue between writer and reader. The paintings are wonderful, the story is exciting. A great read.
Rating:
Summary: Innovation does not always guarantee success
Review: Brimming with historical detail and clearly well researched, it is a shame this book is not more artfully written and furnished with more reproductions of the mentioned art. In his enthusiasm to plunge his readers into Caravaggio's unsavoury environment, Mr. Robb takes on a street talk vernacular, even renaming the painting titles. But, Caravaggio often painted more than one work with the same or very similar title and the author habitually neglects to mention enough details to identify the correct work. Instead, the reader must constantly thumb back and forth toward the end of the book, where they are listed chronologically. Using the location of the works, provided in this list, is the key to cross referencing, for locating them in other sources. Adding to these glaring inconveniences, one is forced to hunt through other sources like picture art books or webpages to understand what he is talking about, since so much of what he says is based on the paintings themselves, of which, few reproductions are provided. What is the point of reading about a painting you are not currently viewing?
Complete with the gory depiction on the book cover, it is marketed as a "sensational" read, but that's where the excitement ends. On the cover, the reproduction demonstrates precisely the main thesis of the book, which asserts that the artist reveals his character through his art. Mr. Robb prefers this method over the traditional route of relying on accounts of the subject's contemporaries and biographers. He astutely proves the reasons why these sources are often less than reliable and this is what saves this book from a toss against the wall. Attempting creativity in his biography of an historical figure is a good idea except he does not blend this with his other goal of retaining the depth from his research. As a result, it is not the light read as promoted, but rather an academic read with some innovative writing tricks which "might've" worked had they been combined with a less laboured writing style.
Rating:
Summary: Innovation does not always guarantee success
Review: Brimming with historical detail and clearly well researched, it is a shame this book is not more artfully written and furnished with more reproductions of the mentioned art. In his enthusiasm to plunge his readers into Caravaggio's unsavoury environment, Mr. Robb takes on a street talk vernacular, even renaming the painting titles. But, Caravaggio often painted more than one work with the same or very similar title and the author habitually neglects to mention enough details to identify the correct work. Instead, the reader must constantly thumb back and forth toward the end of the book, where they are listed chronologically. Using the location of the works, provided in this list, is the key to cross referencing, for locating them in other sources. Adding to these glaring inconveniences, one is forced to hunt through other sources like picture art books or webpages to understand what he is talking about, since so much of what he says is based on the paintings themselves, of which, few reproductions are provided. What is the point of reading about a painting you are not currently viewing?
Complete with the gory depiction on the book cover, it is marketed as a "sensational" read, but that's where the excitement ends. On the cover, the reproduction demonstrates precisely the main thesis of the book, which asserts that the artist reveals his character through his art. Mr. Robb prefers this method over the traditional route of relying on accounts of the subject's contemporaries and biographers. He astutely proves the reasons why these sources are often less than reliable and this is what saves this book from a toss against the wall. Attempting creativity in his biography of an historical figure is a good idea except he does not blend this with his other goal of retaining the depth from his research. As a result, it is not the light read as promoted, but rather an academic read with some innovative writing tricks which "might've" worked had they been combined with a less laboured writing style.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but difficult reading
Review: Caravaggio is one of my favorite painters, which is the only reason I stuck with this book. It is definitely an interesting book but I found it a challenge to read! The style put me off with the many contractions and skipping to new characters in the story with little or no warning or introduction. Quite often I found myself retracing a few previous pages to get the drift. I found the story of contemporary Italy to be as interesting as the life of Caravaggio. It seemed to me that author Robb is very anti-Church and his gossipy stories of various Churchmen and noblemen was always interesting to read. I had to dig up a book on Caravaggio's paintings from my collection to have some pictures to look at as there are too few illustrations in the book. I did manage to find a website that has most of his paintings on it, which helped me follow Robb's excellent descriptions of the paintings. Maybe some editor could cull out about 100 pages to make this book a bit more compact.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrid Writing - Embarrassing Editing
Review: Caravaggio was a great painter. And this book is equally bad. The following excerpt is but one of many examples that can be found on almost every page: "Prospero certainly did this for M, and maybe convinced M to leave the Cesaris after he got out of hospital (sic). Bellori agreed it was Prospero's encouragement that decided (sic) M to go it alone." (from page 44)
Rating:
Summary: This is no Midnight in Sicily
Review: Don't get me wrong: I love Peter Robb's writing and I am green with envy at his ability to find ways to spend long periods of time in Italy. But, it seems that there was too little historical fact about Caravaggio's life to build a book like this around. Robb's book, Midnight in Sicily, had much recorded history to serve as a framework, which, coupled with contemporary descriptions of life in Southern Italy and Sicily, grew into very compelling reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but get a companion book of Caravaggio's artwork
Review: Fascinating story of Caravaggio's life and contemporaries, and minutely detailed descriptions of his work. However, there were NOT enough plates in the book. After reading Robb's accounts of the paintings you immediately want to view the work itself; in most instances there is no corresponding plate, or only a fraction of the piece is shown.
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