Product Description

In the tradition of our best-selling Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents (120 000 copies in print) here are outrageous and uncensored profiles of the world's greatest artists complete with hundreds of little-known politically incorrect and downright bizarre facts. Consider:

ï Michelangelo had such repellant body odor that his assistants couldn't stand working for him.
ï Pablo Picasso did jail time for ripping off several statues from the Louvre.
ï Gabriel Dante Rossetti's favorite pet was a wombat that slept on his dining room table.
ï Vincent van Gogh sometimes ate paint directly from the tube.
ï Georgia O'Keeffe liked to paint in the nude.
ï Salvador DalÌ concocted a perfume from dung to attract the attention of his future wife.

With outrageous anecdotes about everyone from Leonardo (accused sodomist) to Caravaggio (convicted murderer) to Edward Hopper (alleged wife beater) Secret Lives of Great Artists is an art history lesson you'll never forget!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47479 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781594742576
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Elizabeth Lunday is a journalist specializing in architecture and art. She writes the "Masterpieces" column for mental_ floss magazine and lives in Fort Worth, Texas

Customer Reviews

Secret lives
Not too bad. It's like an art history review with some extra tips you don't learn in class. The really juicy parts don't have too much detail though, unfortunately.

Review of Secret Lives of Great Artists
This is not only a well-researched book about the great art masters' lives but also a book full of laugh-out-loud humor. Who knew, as pointed out on page 48, that several of Michelangelo's assistants quit during the four years it took to complete the ceiling of the Sistine chapel - "..hardly suprising since the team lived together and shared a single bed. Since Michelangelo believed bathing was bad for his health, the staff may have been eager to make for the door as soon as possible."

Recommended for serious art history students, teachers, and those of us that just enjoy funny stories.

Secrets we actually do kind of know already...Theres my twelve bucks down the drain....
I have just finished my book after reading it for mmm... maybe half a day. I have to say I had high hopes for this book at first glance. I really wanted to see what kind of dirt the writer had to offer. And I have to say that I was none to impressed with the research. I mean the title itself is a little misleading. But perhaps its because I majored in Art and am teaching it myself. But while reading the book, I felt as if the writer could have put more effort into "finding out secrets" instead of just reitterating the ones we already know. Yes she put together a nice short summary for each artist, but the illustrations in the book were probally the only interesting parts of this book. If I had wanted a short biography of each artist, this book would have been great. If your looking for more than what you learned in your College Art History classes or from Wikipedia, this book is not for you.