The Art of Darkness
is a visually rich sourcebook featuring eclectic artworks that have been inspired and informed by the morbid, melancholic, and macabre.
Throughout history, artists have been
obsessed with darkness
– creating works that
haunt
and
horrify
,
mesmerise
delight,
and play on our
innermost fears
.
Gentileschi
took revenge with paint in
Judith Slaying Holofernes
while
Bosch
depicted fearful visions of Hell that still beguile. Victorian Britain became strangely obsessed with
the dead
and in Norway
Munch
explored anxiety and fear in one of the most famous paintings in the world (
The Scream
, 1893). Today, the Chapman Brothers, Damien Hirst and Louise Bourgeois, as well as many lesser known artists working in the margins, are still drawn to
all that is macabre
. From
Dreams & Nightmares
to
Matters of Mortality
Depravity & Destruction
Gods & Monsters
– this book introduces sometimes
disturbing
and often
beautiful
artworks that
indulge our greatest fears
, uniting us as humans from century to century.
But, while these themes might scare us – can’t they also be heartening and beautiful? Exploring and examining the artworks with thoughtful and evocative text, S. Elizabeth offers insight into each artist’s influences and inspirations, asking
what comfort can be found in facing our demons
Why are we tempted by fear and the grotesque? And what does this tell us about the human mind?
Of course, sometimes there is no good that can come from the sensibilities of darkness and the sickly shivers and sensations they evoke. These are uncomfortable feelings, and we must sit for a while with these shadows – from the safety of our armchairs.
Artists covered include
Pablo Picasso
Georgia O'Keeffe
Francisco de Goya
Leonora Carrington
John Everett Millais
Tracey Emin
Vincent van Gogh
Barbara Hepworth
Paul Cezanne,
Salvador Dalí
, as well as scores more. With over
200
c
arefully curated artworks
from across the centuries,
examines all that is dark in a bid to haunt and hearten.  This book is part of the
Art in the Margins
series, following up on
The Art of the Occult,
which investigates representations of the mystical, esoteric and occult in art from across different times and cultures.