A powerful and illuminating biographythe first in English in two generationsof one of the most popular painters of all time: the seventeenth-century Italian master, Caravaggio.. Of all the great Italian painters, the seventeenth-century master Caravaggio speaks most clearly and powerfully to our time. In this vivid and beautifully written biography, Helen Langdon tells the story of the great painter's life and times in a way that leaves the reader with a renewed appreciation of his art.