The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece

By Jonathan Harr

Book Overview

Told with consummate skill by the writer of the bestselling, award-winning A Civil Action , The Lost Painting is a remarkable synthesis of history and detective story. 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 didn'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 others-no one knows the precise number-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 Christ-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 "Jonathan 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." -- The New York Times Book Review "Jonathan Harr has taken the story of the lost painting, and woven from it a deeply moving narrative about history, art and taste--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." -- The Economist

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375759867
• ISBN13: 9780375759864
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Random House Trade
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Not Even What I Expected

This book is very boring to me. A lot of the dialogue is repeated. It takes way too long to get to the meat and potatoes of the story. I'm sorry I purchased this book.

Art Mysteries

Great book if you like art and mysteries. I don't usually read non-fiction, but this one reads like a mystery. If you liked The Flanders Panel (fiction) you'll love this! You learn an incredible amount about history, painting, and art transactions. I have a whole new appreciation for what it takes to restore a painting and establish a provenance.

Fascinating tale of the art world and a great painting

This is a great book. I could not put it down. Harr weaves a tale of real suspense despite the fact that most know the outsome: a great painting of Christ's betrayal by Caravaggio was discovered by accident in Ireland. The book is also offers interesting insights into the world of art historians and museums.

Art history detective work!

Like "six degrees of separation" everything is somehow connected. How my brother -- who once asked me to explain THE TAKING OF CHRIST during a visit to the National Gallery in Dublin -- came to be reading this book is one of the mysteries of being a sibling. (His curiosity always surprises me.) In any case, I swiped it away from him during a Xmas visit before I even realized it was the same painting we had seen in Dublin. What could be more fun than to read about the intense and passionate discovery of a lost Caravaggio painting, made by two young Italian art students just starting out?! It is engagingly written and reads like a detective novel, with many fulsome descriptions of all the players such as the difficult Italian woman who holds the old sales books for the original painting, the elderly art historian who guides the young Francesca on her painstaking discovery, the priests in whose home the painting is discovered, the patroness who bequeathed it to them, and above all the restorer who identifies THE TAKING OF CHRIST and is overwhelmed by its power, both as an art discovery and as a gem of prestige. There's enough information about the painter and man Caravaggio and the world in which he worked and played to entice even the least art history oriented reader.

Excellent

Mr. Harr has produced a well-documented and ultimately readable book on a facinating topic. He reveals the culture and the turf wars that exist in the art community. He reveals the participants unsympathetically, revealing their faults alongside their brilliance. Excellent read, and highly recommended.

A Ripping Good Yarn

There are only two books that I have read in one sitting and both were written by Jonathon Harr. Suffice it to say that this man is the consummate storyteller. What is so striking about his narrative is his character development. In a true journalistic fashion, he has no qualms about truthfully recounting events and the behavior of those involved. Take Schlichtmann from "A Civil Action" - outwardly he is the hero of the piece but in the end, the reader is faced with the question as to his true motivation. This same reportage is presented in "Lost Painting" as the participants' recollections diverge. However, it is the events themselves that take center stage and the author is smart enough to realize this. I saw this painting some years ago but lacked the provenance provided by this book. I look forward to seeing it again in a completely new light.