Marissa Moss of Berkeley, best known for her Amelia’s Notebook series, makes a perfectly executed turn into young adult historical fiction with Caravaggio: Painter on the Run. A Junior Library Guild selection, the book tells the tale of one of the fathers of modern painting from the late 1500s to early 1600s. Caravaggio’s dark work greatly differed from the pastel-colored, mannered paintings of the times. His life echoed the darkness of his art, whether he was throwing an artichoke in a waiter’s face or committing an unintended murder. Kids will love the drama of the 16th century, the Inquisition, and Caravaggio’s rip-roaring story—and learning about the painter’s rebellious art.
n Caravaggio: Painter on the Run, Marissa Moss captures the essence of this sixteenth century artistic genius for teen and adult readers. The story begins with Caravaggio in prison, one of many stints behind bars. He recalls coming to Rome as a teenager seeking apprenticeship with a wealthier and more prestigious painter and meeting lifelong friend Mario Minitti in the process. Right away he clashes with the master Cesare d’Arpino because young Caravaggio wants to use models from real life rather than sacred images. Furthermore, his models are prostitutes and drunks, the people he meets in his nightly forays to the city’s taverns.
When people notice the young painter’s talent, it only encourages him to want more. Moss captures artistic ambitions and the corrosive effects of envy. Young Caravaggio, whose first name is Michelangelo, wants to be the Michelangelo, supplanting a painter and sculptor who has already achieved international renown. He is destined to fail, but his increasingly provocative efforts push artistic achievement as well as the Church-imposed moral standards of the time. As Caravaggio plays Church rivals to get his own commission to St. Peter’s in the Vatican, the stakes increase.
Moss’s novel based on real life is a page-turner with heft, as readers follow Caravaggio’s growth as an artist and the choices he makes. Many of those are self-destructive as his personal life and weaknesses intrude on his professional aspirations and he becomes dependent on others to constantly bail him out. One may think this novel, published by award winning small press Creston Books, is a tale of life long ago, but it is also an important story for our time. A time line and extensive author’s note clarify the events that are true, the scenes and characters that are invented, and what we yet do not know.
10/01/2016
Gr 8 Up—This energetic, well-researched historical novel brings to life the temperamental, innovative Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. In the late 1500s, the Roman Inquisition was underway, enforcing rigid Catholic standards that identified and punished heretics. Caravaggio was among the challengers—talented, brash, and determined to succeed on his own. He used real, ordinary people as models for religious figures and painted them against dramatic backdrops of light and shadows. Despite fame, wealth, influential supporters, and immense talent, Caravaggio was a hard-drinking, womanizing, renegade street fighter. The first-person narrative takes place within a dynamic historical context based on real people and events, police records, court documents, and true accounts by his contemporaries. Intriguing descriptions of how the artist imagined, staged, and produced actual paintings reveal his originality and the competitive societal role of 17th-century artists. Caravaggio's outspoken genius, notorious anger management issues, and intense but brief romantic liaisons will fascinate teens. This compelling story humanizes Caravaggio, illuminates the political and social pressures on artists in a pivotal era, and will inspire readers to seek out the protagonist's striking artwork. Remarkably, many of Caravaggio's paintings still hang in their original church locations and can be accessed online. VERDICT For fans of historical fiction and art history.—Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC
2016-07-26
A fictionalized account of the Italian painter’s tumultuous life hews to the historical timeline.The painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, better known today simply as Caravaggio, was the most famous painter in Rome when he lived there in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His distinctive painting style—unique at that time—gave his mostly religious themes a gritty, accessible feel, even as his use of common people as models (including prostitutes for the Virgin Mary) appalled many. Moss’ story contains factual historical references—all the people, places, police reports, and depositions it contains actually existed—but is told through Caravaggio’s (necessarily imagined) eyes in this first-person, present-tense narration. When Caravaggio’s first apprenticeship ends due to his temper (a temper that will get him into trouble on a regular basis), Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte takes him under his patronage, where Caravaggio thrives. It’s a very human story, as Caravaggio relays his creative inspirations, petty rivalries, brawls, and drinking activities and mentions his many assignations with courtesans and prostitutes. There are no Caravaggio paintings illustrated, which would have been a plus, but they are easy enough to access on the internet. Fictional letters and journal entries from various people in Caravaggio’s life that are interspersed between chapters feel unnecessary. Overall, Moss tells an absorbing, informative story set in a fascinating time replete with political intrigue, bustle, and corruption. (author’s note, timeline, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 12-17)
