Most folks probably associate Jonathan Harr with his acclaimed work, A Civil Action, but I’ve just finished his newer work, The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece. I picked up this book because, I’m always looking for nonfiction that tells an interesting story, instead of generically listing facts. And I’m also fascinated with the art world (FYI: my very favorite artist is Turner)
Harr does a superb job at weaving the recent uncovering of a once lost Baroque painting, The Taking of Christ into an entertaining read. It would be very easy for this book to turn into a snore fest, but Harr shapes these real life art-historians into well-developed characters. Even the “mystery” elements of the story are cleverly told and shape into an intriguing story.
What makes the book successful, is that it is apparent that Jonathan enjoyed researching and telling this story to the world. His excitement about the events over the recent past surrounding the discovery and arguments over the painting is clear through his tone. This makes the book, a book, rather than an extraordinarily long magazine or journal article. He wants the reader to enjoy reading about this story, as much as he loved learning about it himself. Overall, his writing is at arm’s length, very journalistic in temperment, but there are glimmers of excitement and even giddiness when he describes certain events. Most memorable is when the art restorer, Bennedetti considers that the painting he has been asked to restore could be the lost Caravaggio and will become the pinnacle of his career.
As much as I was entranced by Harr’s work, I was curious as to what my friend, a grad student an art history, would think about it. “It’s like what a romance novel is to literature,” he scoffed, “But if it gets people interested in art, then it’s worthwhile.” He added that it’s admirable that Harr did his homework, and was authentic with his facts. “It’s not like it’s The Da Vinci Code.” I know better than to bring up Dan Brown in his company. He hates that he hates it, because he always has to explain to people that he doesn’t hate it for religious reasons, but because it’s an insult to art scholars. So, I wasn’t completely embarrassed by telling him about reading The Lost Painting.
So maybe Harr’s work is a little more “The Joy of Sex” and a little less Harlequin romance? I think so.
