Bad blood: rivalry and art history

Abstract

"Why is there so much bad blood involved in the stories of artists and their artworks? Immerse yourself in 18 infamous artistic rivalries, dramatized with gripping moments of narrative, to understand how the rivalries that art fans love to gossip about serve a larger purpose in the way cultures approach the idea of art and the artist. Why did Michelangelo loathe Raphael for decades after the latter had died? How did Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse balance their perpetual competition with a lifelong friendship? What transgression pitted the notorious titans of the London graffiti scene, Banksy and King Robbo, in a rivalry that ended with a tragic and unforeseeable death? An investigative journey transforms some of the "big names" of the art world into real people -- often grumpy, ornery, antagonistic, and flawed -- and better reveals how all of us respond to art."--Cover.

Contents

Mortal experiments -- The ideal dead bird -- History, reborn -- The problem of art -- The heart of rivalry -- Veit Stoss v. Jacob Baner -- Francis I v. Charles V -- Michelangelo v. Raphael -- Giovanni Baglione v. Michelangelo Mersi da Caravaggio -- Judith Leyster v. Frans Hals -- Guido Reni v. Cardinal Giambattista Pamphili -- Gian Lorenzo Bernini v. Costanza Bonarelli -- Domenichino v. Cabal of Naples -- Johann Joachim Winckelmann v. Anton Raphael Mengs -- Marie Antoinette v. the People of France -- John Singleton Copley v. Benjamin West -- William Blake v. Robert Hartley Cromek -- John Constable v. J.M.W. Turner -- Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres v. Eugene Delacroix -- Gustave Courbet v. Alfred Bruyas -- James Abbott McNeill Whistler v. Frederick Leyland -- Pablo Picasso v. Henri Matisse -- Banksy v. King Robbo.