The Madman's Gallery: The Strangest Paintings, Sculptures and Other Curiosities From the History of Art

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This is a book about beauty and the limitless creativity of artists throughout the ages. We couldn’t have hoped for a better tour guide on this journey and more beautiful graphics to accompany his lessons. In Russia, he highlights dog-headed icons of Saint Christopher—a reflection of the “widely held medieval belief in a foreign race of dog-headed men living somewhere at the edge of the world.” And in Peru, he revisits 17th-century portraits of the ángeles arcabuceros, or angel musketeers. Dressed in a mixture of pre-Columbian and Spanish clothing, these winged, armed angels combine local legends of “deities of the stars” with “the imperial magnificence of Christianity.” It’s not all bad taste, either. My favorite is a horrifying impression of World War I, by Franz Marc, called Fate of the Animals. He painted it in 1913, fully envisioning the coming conflagration throughout Europe. He was then drafted, sent to the front (as a camouflage artist), and was killed at the Battle of Verdun in 1916, at the age of 36. To me, his painting is far more evocative of the chaos and horror of war than Picasso’s Guernica, nearly 30 years later (and which does not make the book). Yet it was done in advance and in a very modern art style.

The Madman's Gallery reminds us that for the first 40,000 years of its existence art was a verb - something that does something. Protects you from demons and plagues, assists in childbirth, casting spells, summoning ghosts, standing over tombs, communing with ancestors, making the crops grow, safeguarding armies, and conjuring God.' -- Jerry Saltz, Senior Art Critic New York Magazine Obscure and forgotten treasures sit alongside famous masterpieces with secret stories to tell. Here are Doom paintings, screaming sculptures, magical manuscripts, impossible architecture, dog-headed saints, angel musketeers and the first portrait of a cannibal. Stolen art, outsider art, ghost art, revenge art, and art painted at the bottom of the sea take their place alongside scandalous art, forgeries and hoaxes, art of dreams and nightmares, and cryptic paintings yet to be decoded. Discover the remarkable Elizabethan portraits of men in flames, the mystery of the nude Mona Lisa, the gruesome ingredients of lost pigments, the werewolf legion of the Roman army, and the Italian monk who levitated so often he's recognised as the patron saint of aeroplane passengers. Enter The Madman's Gallery - the perfect gift book for any art lover. Discover an eccentric exploration through the curious history of art, to find the strangest paintings, sculptures, drawings and other artistic oddities ever made.

Summary

This suggests it was painted simultaneously by one of Leonardo’s students—quite possibly by Salaì—at the neighboring canvas,” the book notes. This book confirmed that my weird threshold is pretty high. I expected the artwork to be weirder. I really enjoyed the first half of this book but it didn’t keep my interest as much when it made it to more contemporary art. Anybody who loves the printed word will be bowled over by this amusing, erudite, beautiful book about books. It is in every way a triumph. One of the loveliest books to have been published for many, many years' Alexander McCall Smith Brought to light from the depths of libraries, museums, dealers, and galleries around the world, these forgotten artistic treasures include portraits of oddballs such as the British explorer with a penchant for riding crocodiles, and the Italian monk who levitated so often he's recognized as the patron saint of airplane passengers. Discover impossible medieval land yachts, floating churches, and eagle-powered airships. Encounter dog-headed holy men, armies of German giants, 18th-century stuntmen, human chessboards, screaming ghost heads, and more marvels of the human imagination. A captivating odditorium of obscure and engaging characters and works, each expertly brought to life by historian and curator of the strange Edward Brooke-Hitching, here is a richly illustrated and entertaining gallery for lovers of outré art and history.

Brooke-Hitching has the true eye and instinct for the unusual and unexpected that is possessed by only the most dedicated and assiduous connoisseur and collector. I hope this cabinet of artistic curiosities becomes a bestselling book. A handsome volume that deserves to sell like hot cakes.' -- Robert Cumming, author of 'Art: A Visual History'

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My only complaint is that in the galley version I was reading, the images were fuzzy—hopefully that’s not a problem in the published book. Enter The Madman’s Gallery– the perfect gift book for any art lover. Discover an eccentric exploration through the curious history of art, to find the strangest paintings, sculptures, drawings and other artistic oddities ever made.

Obscure and forgotten treasures sit alongside famous masterpieces with secret stories to tell. Here are Doom paintings, screaming sculptures, magical manuscripts, impossible architecture, dog-headed saints, angel musketeers and the first portrait of a cannibal. Stolen art, outsider art, ghost art, revenge art, and art painted at the bottom of the sea take their place alongside scandalous art, forgeries and hoaxes, art of dreams and nightmares, and cryptic paintings yet to be decoded. Discover the remarkable Elizabethan portraits of men in flames, the mystery of the nude Mona Lisa, the gruesome ingredients of lost pigments, the werewolf legion of the Roman army, and the Italian monk who levitated so often he’s recognised as the patron saint of aeroplane passengers. This is a madman’s library of eccentric and extraordinary volumes from around the world, many of which have been completely forgotten. Books written in blood and books that kill, books of the insane and books that hoaxed the globe, books invisible to the naked eye and books so long they could destroy the Universe, books worn into battle, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered… and a few others that are just plain weird.It’s possible, though there’s no certainty, that this was the preparatory drawing for the painted Joconde Nue,” curator Mathieu Deldicque told the London Times’ Charles Bremner in 2017. “We don’t even know if that portrait was really painted but there’s a strong probability that it was. What has tipped us off are retouches. There are little clues. … The creative work on this oeuvre is very close to the lower part of the Mona Lisa, the one in the Louvre.” It turns out this is not the first time Brooke-Hitching has done this. His previous book is a madman’s survey of bizarre books and manuscripts. This was apparently such as success, he has tried to replicate it in art. And clearly succeeded. This might be a new franchise. Lord knows culture has enough that is bizarre to keep him occupied. So keep an eye on him. It’s worth it.