Booklist
Caravaggio has become an icon for the paradoxical connection between the sacred and the profane found in his work. A seventeenth-century painter of daring authenticity, he is also remembered for his reckless behavior and violent temper, which led to his killing a man under circumstances that remain mysterious. Norwegian writer Naess, intrigued by the dark rumors that cling to Caravaggio like shadows and by the true nature of holiness, draws on historical documents to create a set of hypnotic first-person narratives that add up to a
Rashomon-like multiplicity of perspectives. Innocenzo Promontorio, the most loquacious and most fictionalized witness, is a young man who models for and parties with Caravaggio. Innocenzo also studies astronomy, which, like Caravaggio's unprecedented realism, was considered a dangerous quest for truth in a time of tyrannical church rule. Each subsequent witness--including the proud and mettlesome prostitute, Phyllida, Caravaggio's model for the Virgin Mary; the painter's hypocritical priest brother; and several fellow artists--relates self-serving theories about the murder in clever monologues that ponder truth, justice, and faith.
Donna SeamanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Coming somewhere between Peter Ackroyd and Perfume, Doubting Thomas is an innovative and fascinating novel about the renowned Italian painter Caravaggio. The plot centres around the events of a May evening in Rome in 1606, when Caravaggio was challenged to a duel and killed a man. Who was this man Caravaggio? What happened on that fateful night? What was the cause of the fight that forced him to flee Rome?
Different narrators, including a drunken architect, the painter's own brother, some ladies of the night, a town clerk and a close friend of Caravaggio all present their versions of the events that took place that night, shedding light on what happened and, as a result, on the painter's revolutionary art.
Doubting Thomas is a book about ideas and about a period in time that witnessed the coming of enlightenment and dramatic changes in thinking. It is first and foremost a novel about human destiny, sensuality and purpose of mind; brutality and love, exploration and devotion.
How far can a painter go? Where is the line between what is sacred and what is profane? How can a drunkard and a womaniser such as Caravaggio create art that speaks of fervent aesthetics and even religious devotion?
