Scoundrels, Cads, and Other Great Artists

by Jeffrey K. Smith

Just because the art is beautiful doesn't mean the artist was a saint...

Scoundrels, Cads, and Other Great Artists examines the lives of 12 great artists who were less than exemplary human beings in their lives outside of their art.

It explores the question, "Why do we like magnificent art from artists who were awful human beings?" For example, the great Baroque painter, Caravaggio, who developed the chiaroscuro style of painting, was in constant trouble with the law, even having killed a man in a dual. Frederick Remington, the great painter of the American West, was an incredible racist and bigot. His evocative paintings of native Americans on the trail on horseback give no hint of Remington's enmity toward them or other ethnic groups in America. John James Audubon? He mostly shot the birds he painted; if in doing so, he damaged a part that he wanted to paint, he shot another one. Whistler and Courbet were philanderers and libertines.

Scoundrels introduces people to great art by showing the more salacious side of the personal lives of great artists over time. The book not only tells the stories of a dozen artists, but explores how to look at art and the separation between art and artist. This lively narrative is enhanced by over 100 full-color reproductions of great paintings and details from them.

216 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2020

Reviews

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s more important, talent or morals? When a person is a great artist, can we forgive adultery, bigotry or even murder? I knew that Caravaggio had killed a man, but confronted by the inimitable beauty of his paintings, his failings as a person are the last thing on my mind. Am I better than him because I’ve never committed murder, even if all I can paint is stick figures? This the fascinating question at the heart of this book. Devoting a chapter each to some of the biggest artists - and the worst jerks, in history. Plus, Artemisia Gentileschi, the one good person in the bunch. Jeffrey K. Smith is a psychologist, not an art historian, so the book offers a different perspective than most other volumes. He includes a brief introduction to the period, the artists’ lives and their oeuvre. It’s almost a pity to read it in electronic format, as it includes gorgeous illustrations that the author analyzes. I learned many new things but mostly I enjoyed thinking about art.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Rowman & Littlefield!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does the personal life and morals of an artist matter to you if their work is brilliant? What about a talented singer? A politician? An author? An activist? Smith brings up these questions and more as he looks at nine different artists and their less than stellar personal life choices. BUT what contributions to art and society they made! We can choose to reject their work and move on, or separate the good from the bad and appreciate their skills and new ideas.

I personally love this gray area, this tense pull of good/bad, light/dark, and the truth that we’re all flawed beings and creators. Caravaggio and Courbet have always been two of my favorite artists—and I knew they were total JERKS, but not exactly HOW much. I loved Smith’s informal, humorous way of writing that means one doesn’t have to be an “art snob” to understand the art he talks about.

[Renee Jolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to review this title. Sadly, it didn't read any differently than any other art history/biography I've read; I was a little underwhelmed with this one.