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

by Harvey Rachlin

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

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Art History, Museums

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Lesli Gawron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative but hasn't aged well in how it talks about artists' personal lives and the last few sections it took extra effort to get through it

[Ingrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little let down that, with the exception of about three stories, the majority of the "scandals" and "remarkable art tales" were neither scandalous nor that remarkable. The paintings chosen were great and I was pleasantly surprised that upon my visit to the Met, I not only recognized the paintings but had some background context for them. Not my favorite book on art, but the few stories I was completely engrossed by did manage to salvage the read for me.

[Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would definitely recommend looking up the paintings for yourself if you can; they're somewhat difficult to see in print (at least in the copy that I have).
Anyway, these were interesting little tales, chosen from a good range of art history, but I think that the author is more knowledgeable in history than he is talented at commanding language and weaving a well-written narrative.

[shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
I liked the vignette about the guy whose foot got eaten off by a shark, then he decided 30 years later to get a guy to paint his leg being eaten off by a shark. Also, for a book about art, this was not written very artistically. But it was a fast read and contained some very lovely pieces (although you have to look them up because the print in the book isn’t too great).

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Susan Liston · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is misleading, and sort of silly. This is a short bio of a number of paintings, of varying levels of fame. I enjoyed it, although I knew a lot of the information already, I still learned quite a bit.

[Tony P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to art history for those who know nothing about art.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still in the middle of reading this amongst other books, but it seems promising. A collection of various interesting tidbits, anecdotes and history of various art works including the famous Mona Lisa - did you know it had been stolen once, for quite some time with no clues? I certainly did not.

Then there is the critic who was sued by Whistler and lost, but Whistler was only awarded a farthing and went more into debt while Ruskin's friends took up a collection to pay his costs although he wasn't poor - but we know history turned the verdict around, and Whistler is far more the famous one through his simple and eternal evocative Mother. Does anyone know about the guy who criticised him in abusive terms and drove him into bankruptcy? Of course except for his descendants, only those that go looking for details of Whistler's life and trials and travails, and come across the man who was lacking in vision of art.

There are many, many tales, each a huge piece of history, and very interesting. There is the portrait by Holbein of a possible could have been consort for Henry the eighth, after he lost his third wife to childbirth when he finally had his first legitimate son. Duchess of Milan, Christina of Denmark, was related to the emperor of Spain and so the whole affair was politically suitable as well, but the king was adamant about marrying someone who would please him personally too and hence he sent around not only for portraits (a common tradition of those days) but insisted on meeting various candidates as well, and this is one candidate he was pleased with the portrait of to the extent that he signaled negotiations to begin for a marriage. That however was not to be, since the negotiations were connected to Spain, and Catherine being divorced had not been forgotten. Hence the Anne of Cleves was the next choice.

One of the telling stories - telling about a supposedly liberal artist as well as about this writer - is that about Nelson the hero of England and Lady Hamilton, love of his life. Both the artist who painted the picture the writer is telling the story of Nelson and Lady Hamilton in context of and the writer would like to be considered liberal and compassionate, but they straddle the fence without perhaps being aware that their compassion and sense of justice is faulty. They blame Lady Hamilton for qualities that go unpunished not only in men at all times, irrespective of time and culture and geography, but also in most women of high - read wealthy and socially considered upper class - origins. While superficially they indict Lady Hamilton for having an affair and generally being far from virgin or celibate, the exact same life story in another - any man or a woman born to wealth and position - not only goes unpunished but remains unspoken except in inconsequential whispers that might in fact lend glamour to the persona.

Lady Hamilton is in fact indicted and despised by the society then and the artist Redgrage and this writer now, for being of poor origins and achieving not only a position of wealth and glamour for a while, with social status and political achievements to boot, but also being fortunate in being loved and loving - and that too a hero of the stature of Nelson. He did not give her up in spite of the displeasure of not only society but even the king.


Then again, who ever claimed monarchs were virtuous, unless one is talking of the virgin queen Bess, beloved of England! One has only to read Daphne du Maurier's biographical Mary Anne. Or know about the ancestors of todays royal couple being illicit paramours a few generations ago. Hypocrisy amounts to ascribing one's distaste for someone to questions of virtue and vice - and all the while it is merely a question of if you knew the person socially, if you could have been related, in past or in future.
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One of course has to mention Guernica, however worthy other entries. The whole story of the wwII is something no one ought to be allowed to forget but this part, the beginning and the field where the axis weapons were tested and showcased, with the destruction of Spain in general and Guernica in particular serving as a show and a warning to other nations that might think of opposing the Axis, is often overlooked, and it is the theatre where many Europolitic factors became clear. There were those that helped the fascists, and then those that not only agreed to stay away but threatened to persecute such of their citizens who went individually to help the new nation of Republic of Spain, the democratically elected government being socialist. The net result was the poor populace got massacred, and this time the word is used literally.

Too many people on either side hold up the bombing of Dresden subsequently by allies as a heinous crime - forgetting not only the bombing of London with thousands of civilian casualties including women and children, but also the very purposeful destruction of Guernica and Spain, which was not at war with those that did the bombing, namely the nazis. And while it is not to say one murder is justified by another, it certainly ought to be remembered that you cannot expect to reap strawberries by sowing cactii. Or that while Dresden citizens might have been less innocent of the war and the nazi crimes, the poor of Guernica were entirely innocent by any criteria even if someone (neo nazi, for example) manages to argue that citizens of London deserved the few months long relentless bombings due to their nation not giving up to the nazis.

Picasso could paint, and he portrayed the massacre, the butchering of Guernica. The painting went home when fascism gave way and Spain became a democracy, according to his will.
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All in all, very interesting and thought provoking a read.

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this in the non-fiction section a few weeks ago and checked it out on a whim. After all, am I not interested in art? All in all, this was an interesting if not particularly satisfying read. A good number of the paintings profiled - supposedly scandalous, historically significant or in some way out of the norm - were little known paintings that were, for the most part, little known for a reason. The tiny essays on each painting were rarely more than 3 or so pages long and had the unfortunate tendency to sound too much like the attempt of a ninth grade English student to write his first five paragraph essay. This book amounts to the most basic detective work and unstudied hypothetical psychological questions.

Not bad if you want something to read on the toilet. Highly unsatisfactory if you're looking for any true insight into the artist's mystique.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one reviewer points out, there isn't much scandel in this book. Yet if you enjoyed Private Life of a Masterpiece, you should enjoy this book. Rachlin traces the hidden stories behind some of the world's most famous paintings. Each chapter tells the story of a painting, from Mona Lisa to Dali's Christ of Saint John on the Cross. A rather enjoyable read.

So this is one of my favorite paintings in Montreal:

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The woman in the painting, Kathleen Newton, was the mistress of the painter, John Jacques Joseph Tissot. She died of TB but appears in several of his paintings. There is a beautiful chapter about Tissot after her death in this book. It makes the above painting, though the section was not about that, mean even more.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

First chapter: Mona Lisa. Author debunks hearsay about its theft in 1911. ML was a global treasure at that time; the theft did not turn it into what it is today. But most of the chapters are not about art thefts...most chapters offer context--how or why an artwork was painted, the purposes it served, responses, controversies, etc. Author does a fair amount of speculating; he also did his research. My favorite chapter was the story of "The Honorable Mrs. Graham" but I also liked, "The Skater." I'd give this book 4 or 5 stars if the prose was more straightforward. 3 stars isn't enough, though. 3 3/4!

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was overly simplistic, and didn't provide a lot of new information on the works of art selected. There were some works that should have been included in the categories of: scandals, vandals and "DaVincis" which were clearly omitted for more user friendly paintings.
Not a good read for those who have an above average interest in art history, and disappointing writing overall. It's a good thing I got this free from Penguin; I'd be upset if I actually paid for it.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book which promises far more than it delivers. Sadly the stories contained within are nowhere near as exciting as the blurb suggests - the art world contains far more interesting tales than some of the mundane content on show here. A better style with some bigger and clearer representations of the paintings concerned would have been useful, rather than the black and white reproductions offered. The title is the best thing about it.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A major disappointment--some of the stories behind the art work were interesting but not enough to write a book about. The one thing that was so disappointing to me was that the pictures of the art being discussed were black and white and not very clear. I think I would have gotten more out of this book if I could have seen all the details the author was describing.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of these paintings have fascinating stories associated with them - either about the painting, or it's life after creation. So why is each chapter so boring? The writing in this book can barely get out of bed to tell these stories, and it's in danger of falling asleep in the middle of even the most interesting. Same material by a better writer would make a great book.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book tells the stories behind famous paintings. Some stories are more interesting then others though. Each story is different, like a short story book, so you can just read about the paintings you like. Did you know the Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911 and was missing for 2 years? WOW!

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book held so much promise, yet I was ultimately disappointed. I think it was written for young adults, but even then it did not in any way attempt to challenge the reader. I think I would have liked it more if the author had limited himself to fewer works of art and more details.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I expected the book to have a little more "pep" or a quicker pace. I was also disappointed with artwork. It is a very quick read and not a waste of time, but it could have been so much better.

[Amanda Ariela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes the author is more prolific than the necessary. I also wished he had investigated some other works of art who were best know or had more mistery, I felt that sometimes, the paints were only there because the author liked them.

But it is a nice read and a good non fiction book.

[Cristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book for a different side of the history of art.

[Holiday · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not literary enough, and too "lite" for my taste. The stories weren't even that interesting--at least not for someone with a modicum of art history knowledge.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories were interesting, but there was really nothing astonishing going on. Somewhat dull overall.

[Duong · Rating 2 out of 5]

The chapters were a bit too brief and it was extremely disappointing that the book lacked color images of the paintings discussed.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaing but superficial. A quick read

[Cat. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun. Would have been MUCH better with color photos of the artwork in question!

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stories were OK.