Scandals, Vandals, and da Vincis: A Gallery of Remarkable Art Tales

Scandals, Vandals, and da Vincis: A Gallery of Remarkable Art Tales

The secret histories of the world’s most famous masterpieces Caravaggios, Rembrandts, Monets—the works of immortal artists such as these are indelibly imprinted in the public mind; they are priceless masterpieces whose beauty, artistry, and emotional impact have inspired admiration, awe, and envy through the centuries. Yet behind many of these brilliant paintings and sculptures are fascinating, unique histories. In Scandals, Vandals, and da Vincis , award-winning writer Harvey Rachlin relates in exciting detail how nearly thirty of these works came to be created and how they survived burglary, forgery, revolutions, ransoms, vandals, scandals, religious sects, and shipwrecks to eventually come to their current resting places Great paintings often have great backstories, and in this lively, gossipy book, prolific Rachlin takes full advantage, amping up the drama in these mostly familiar art controversies. There isn't much serious criticism here; instead he takes an almost pulp-fictional approach to tales of art theft, vandalism, public trials, and private inspirations. We learn about the burglary of Leonardo's Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911, followed by its bizarre recovery two years later; three separate attacks (by vandals wielding knifes and sulfuric acid) on Rembrandt's The Night Watch ; and the flight of the outlaw Caravaggio and how his troubles might have influenced his David with the Head of Goliath . Best of all, Rachlin follows the line "whatever happened to . . .," as in the case of John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark . The real-life subject of the painting's depiction of a boy on the verge of having his leg bitten off survived his ordeal and went on to become a Revolutionary War-era American hater and English nobleman, despite his peg leg. Kevin Nance Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Harvey Rachlin is the author of 11 books, including Lucy's Bone's, Sacred Stones, and Einstein's Brain and Jumbo's Hide, Elvis' Ride, and the Tooth of Buddha , which were adapted for the smash-hit History Channel series  History's Lost and Found . He has written for the New York Times, The Writer , Law and Order Magazine , and numerous other publications, and is a winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music journalism. He has appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs and is an adjunct lecturer in music at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York.