Scandals, Vandals, and da Vincis: A Gallery of Remarkable Art Tales Paperback – Illustrated, March 27, 2007

This is a very nice historical review of a number of historically important works of art and the artists who created them. Most art history books describe the works of art, this tome describes the who, what, when and why of the objet d'arte. Few, when confronted with great art, look beyond the surface. If you want to know why the art was made, or how it cost the artist his life, and twenty-four other dramatic vignettes of historically important masterpieces that few ever knew the story of its creation (I'm not sure if that's a sentence or not).Scandals, Vandals, and da Vincis: A Gallery of Remarkable Art Tales

As an art lover and historian, I so wanted to like this book, but it was a disappointment. The title was misleading, a marketer's ploy--these weren't "remarkable" art tales, a majority were known to me, as they would be to many art lovers, and the tales didn't reveal many new facts or insights. There were far too many well-known stories-behind-the-paintings, the stories you heard when you took "Art Appreciation 101" at University, and not enough unknown "scandals, vandals" to meet the title's tease. Nevertheless, I skimmed it cover to cover, but with a space-constrained library, didn't feel it was a "keeper" so gave it to the neighborhood book sale -- where, I hasten to add, I'm sure it would have been scooped up by someone who would have enjoyed it before passing it on in turn. In short--light reading, and entertaining, but a better title would have been "The Stories Pictures Tell"...or some such.

Having enjoyed Harvey Rachlin's other books about the stories behind historical figures and artifacts, I was anxious to get into his latest--about intrigues involving the world's art masterpieces. I was not disappointed. Rachlin is a tireless collector of historical curiosities, and he has a true storyteller's knack for ferreting out the most intriguing true tales and turning them into narratives that keep you reading. If you like art, history, mysteries, and you love a good story, check out Scandals, Vandals, and Da Vincis.

interesting

This book aims to tell intriguing stories "behind" well-known, if not famous paintings, such as Rembrandt's "Anatomy Lesson". Most of this is rather well-known to art enthusiasts. Those newer to the field will not be stimulated by the pictures themselves, which, in paperback, are about 4" X 6", mostly grainy and in black and white.