Drawn & Quartered: Reshuffle the History of Art 234, 256 Ways

by Thames & Hudson

Talk about artistic license Start with twenty-two museum-quality portraits, from an Egyptian pharaoh to a Durer nude. Cut each into quarters -- head, torso, legs, and feet. Mount on stiff cardboard stock, add a spiral binding, and voila -- you've got Drawn & Quartered, a loopy and wonderfully interactive spoof on Western art history. Flip the slices, and who knows what strange and preposterous creature will emerge -- the head of a medieval Christian maiden attached to the body of an Elizabeth dandy standing on Toulouse-Lautrec legs with Italian Renaissance feet is just one of the 234,256 possibilities And there's more. On the back of each slice are phrases that combine into comical non sequiturs that perfectly complement the facing illustrations. For anyone who loves art and has a sense of humor, Drawn & Quartered is the perfect gift.

27 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Genevieve Paquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this absolute gem at a discount bookshop when I was in high school. I found it in my basement and brought it back up to the surface to have another look. It's a delight. It's like one of those fashion plate toys, where you can mix and match heads, torsos and legs to make new outfits, except all the parts are from famous works of art and come with a corresponding line of text that works like a Mad Lib, almost. "When Nicholas Hilliard painted me, I looked so soulful because" "people have forgotten that I was quite a good painter in my own right" "But because I'm one of the glories of the Book of Durrow, I" "boast about my trendy boots."
It's great. If you ever come across it, pick it up. It's a lot of fun, and it's also a little bit educational, exposing the reader to all sorts of art.