The Lost Painting
by Jonathan Harr
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jonathan HarrEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-07
ISBN: 0375759867
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Reviews of The Lost Painting
Book Review: A Fascinating Detective Story
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been fascinated with the art of Caravaggio for many years and been able to see the majority of his painting that still decorate churches in Italy. Jonathan Harr's book, therefore, had an instant appeal. The Lost Painting tells the story of how a painting of Caravaggio - The Taking of Christ - was found after being lost for centuries. The book initially centers on a painting of St. John the Baptist by Caravaggio and the attempts to track down its history. The St; John was purchased by the Mattei family from the artist along with The Taking of Christ. The whereabouts of the latter painting is a mystery. Mr. Harr's approach is to treat this like a detective story. He centers on three people: Sir Dennis Mahon, Francesca Cappelletti and Sergio Benedetti. Sir Denis is a highly respected art historian, Francesca is a graduate student in art history and a researcher, and Sergio is an expert in art restoration.
The book is as much about the personalities of the three main characters as it deals with art history, scholarly research and the preservation of art. We are plunged into the milieu of the art world. I learned a great deal about the search for family archives and the various states of preservation that these documents come in. Some are remarkably well preserved, as fresh as if written a few years ago when they are hundreds of years old. Mr. Harr provides nicely detailed descriptions of the three central figures. Obviously, he observed them closely. For example, here he introduces Sir Dennis:
"The Englishman moves in a slow but deliberate shuffle, knees slightly bent and feet splayed, as he crosses the piazza, heading in the direction of a restaurant named Da Fortunato. The year is 2001. The Englishman is ninety-one years old. He carries a cane, the old-fashioned kind with a hooked handle, although he does not always use it. The dome of his bald head, smooth as an eggshell, gleams pale in the bright midday Roman sun. He is dressed in his customary manner - a dark blue double breasted suit, hand tailored on Savile Row more than thirty years ago, and a freshly starched shirt with gold cuff links and a gold collar pin. His hearing is still sharp, his eyes clear and unclouded."
Sometimes the author gives a little too much information, such as when describing Francesca's long relationship with Luciano. His pacing is very good and I found myself wanting to continue reading even though I had to put the book away for the day. I found it easy to be caught up in the research of Francesca and Laura as they uncover, bit by bit, information about Caravaggio's painting of St John and the intriguing missing painting. I would have liked some photographs in the book to illustrate the three central figures of the book, and I am wondering what The Taking of Christ looked like before any restoration had taken place.
Nevertheless, this is an informative and entertaining book about the art world and how fate intervenes to give and take fame from painters and scatter their works to the most unlikely of places.
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