The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece

The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece

Told with consummate skill by the writer of the bestselling, award-winningÂ A Civil Action,Â The Lost PaintingÂ is a remarkable synthesis of history and detective story.Â

An Italian village on a hilltop near the Adriatic coast, a decaying palazzo facing the sea, and in the basement, cobwebbed and dusty, lit by a single bulb, an archive unknown to scholars. Here, a young graduate student from Rome, Francesca Cappelletti, makes a discovery that inspires a search for a work of art of incalculable value, a painting lost for almost two centuries.

The artist was Caravaggio, a master of the Italian Baroque. He was a genius, a revolutionary painter, and a man beset by personal demons. Four hundred years ago, he drank and brawled in the taverns and streets of Rome, moving from one rooming house to another, constantly in and out of jail, all the while painting works of transcendent emotional and visual power. He rose from obscurity to fame and wealth, but success didnâ€™t alter his violent temperament. His rage finally led him to commit murder, forcing him to flee Rome a hunted man. He died young, alone, and under strange circumstances.

Caravaggio scholars estimate that between sixty and eighty of his works are in existence today. Many othersâ€“no one knows the precise numberâ€“have been lost to time. Somewhere, surely, a masterpiece lies forgotten in a storeroom, or in a small parish church, or hanging above a fireplace, mistaken for a mere copy.

Prizewinning author Jonathan Harr embarks on an spellbinding journey to discover the long-lost painting known as The Taking of Christâ€“its mysterious fate and the circumstances of its disappearance have captivated Caravaggio devotees for years. After Francesca Cappelletti stumbles across a clue in that dusty archive, she tracks the painting across a continent and hundreds of years of history. But it is not until she meets Sergio Benedetti, an art restorer working in Ireland, that she finally manages to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle.

Praise for The Lost Painting

â€œJonathan Harr has gone to the trouble of writing what will probably be a bestseller . . . rich and wonderful. . . . In truth, the book reads better than a thriller. . . . If you're a sucker for Rome, and for dusk . . . [you'll] enjoy Harr's more clearly reported details about life in the city.â€â€”The New York Times Book Review

â€œJonathan Harr has taken the story of the lost painting, and woven from it a deeply moving narrative about history, art and tasteâ€”and about the greed, envy, covetousness and professional jealousy of people who fall prey to obsession. It is as perfect a work of narrative nonfiction as you could ever hope to read.â€â€”The Economist

Country	USA
Brand	Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer	Random House Publishing Group
Binding	Paperback
PartNumber	0375759867_used
Color	Black
IsAdultProduct
Height	8
Length	5.19
Weight	2.314853751
Width	0.72
ReleaseDate	2006-11-07
NumberOfItems	1

The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece

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