The Grotesque Factor

by Valeriano Bozal (Contributor), Martin Clayton, Frances Connelly

Despite its longevity as a tradition stretching back to at least the eighteenth century, the Grotesque has only recently become a non-pejorative term in art and academia. The Grotesque Factor takes a close look at the evolution of the Grotesque, examining early caricature (Hogarth, Goya), abject, scatological and black humor, nineteenth-century French art and literature (Grandville, Baudelaire, Jarry), Jame Ensor, the grotesque in early film and the grotesque turn in recent British art. It includes 175 extraordinary works by more than 76 artists, including Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Otto Dix, James Ensor, Max Ernst, José Gutiérrez Solana, Victor Hugo, Paul Klee, Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein, René Magritte, Man Ray, Franz Xavier Messerschmidt, Juan Muñoz, Meret Oppenheim, Pablo Picasso, Richard Prince, Juan Sánchez Cotán, Antonio Saura, Thomas Schütte, Cindy Sherman, Leonardo da Vinci, Bill Viola and Franz West, among others.

Genres: Art

368 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2013

About the author

Valeriano Bozal Fernández (24 November 1940 – 2 July 2023) was a Spanish historian and philosopher.

Reviews

[Gypsysoul_]

Excellent collection on the art of the grotesque and the morphing of the terminology through the years.