Though history has left only sketchy details of the life of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, that hasn't stopped the speculation. A revolutionary artist in the early part of the Baroque period, the Milan-born Caravaggio's naturalistic approach to art, incorporation of radical contrasts between light and darkness, and use of common people such as prostitutes and other disreputable types as models for depictions of religious scenes suddenly and irreversibly changed the face of Western painting. But not much is known of the man himself beyond his early rise, triumph, and subsequent downfall following numerous run-ins with the law. Looked at in biographical terms, the artist's work has served as both a window and a mirror. Many have seen his work as explicitly gay in its imagery, which, coupled with rumors surrounding the sexual habits of one of his early patrons, has created a sexually frank image for the painter. Desmond Seward, author of the new Caravaggio biography A Passionate Life, goes to great lengths to dispute this—questionably great lengths, in fact. Seward, a member of the Knights Of Malta, the same monastic military order that Caravaggio joined, and was expelled from, late in his life, takes every opportunity to point out any hints of heterosexual attraction both on and off his subject's canvases. Whether he's right remains a matter of debate, but it's interesting to see how one fact can color an entire biography. Maybe, at a slim 175 pages, Seward decided to make his book as exciting and fast-paced as possible, but Seward's image of Caravaggio as a pious, swashbuckling outlaw doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table. That's not to say A Passionate Life isn't fast-paced or exciting. The book paints a vivid portrait of the dangers in Italy around the turn of the 17th century, one that should put to rest any questions concerning Caravaggio's seemingly perverse preoccupation with decapitation. But anyone looking for a biography to fill in the details of the sketch history has left may come away disappointed.