M

M is known to history as Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), a painter who lived a short, wild and violent life and who irrevocably changed Western art. In his fiercely incisive biography Robb explores the contradictions of this complex man he refers to simply as M, an enigma to be unlocked. There are few known facts about M's life, the impression of his contemporaries was of a difficult and violent man. Murder, exile and an unexplained disappearance all added to the myth of a deranged artist with the greatest enigma being how to match this outrageously destructive life with the perceptive and penetrating mind that his paintings mirror. The paintings are the key to M: his life and psyche are splashed all over the canvas. M was the first modern painter, ignoring the careful rules of Renaissance art and the dogma of Counter-Reformation Baroque he painted directly from life. He stepped forward from Leonardo's naturalism to explore the reality of things and people. It was revolutionary, and M's paintings were alive, sensual and true. The real replaced the ideal and the mind of the artist became disturbingly visible to the viewer. Robb proves as much psychologist and detective as art historian, analyzing with clarity each surviving work to explain M's developing style and disintegrating life. Sentenced to death in Rome and pursued by vendetta M abandoned models to paint from memory, focusing on what was essential to convey meaning. Darkness crept in, with play of shadow and the power of absence creating, 'the most intimate and desolating work he'd ever do'. M's life, too, faded into darkness. Robb strips away the official obscuration surrounding his disappearance to reveal the likely explanation of his murder in a gripping finale. This vivid biography reveals M as directly and honestly as his own art revealed life itself. (Kirkus UK)