TheArtofDarknessisavisuallyrichsourcebookfeaturingeclecticartworksthathavebeeninspiredandinformedbythemorbid,melancholic,andmacabre.Throughouthistory,artistshavebeenobsessedwithdarkness-creatingworksthathauntandhorrify,mesmeriseanddelight,andplayonourinnermostfears.GentileschitookrevengewithpaintinJudithSlayingHoloferneswhileBoschdepictedfearfulvisionsofHellthatstillbeguile.VictorianBritainbecamestrangelyobsessedwiththedeadandinNorwayMunchexploredanxietyandfearinoneofthemostfamouspaintingsintheworld(TheScream,1893).Today,theChapmanBrothers,DamienHirstandLouiseBourgeois,aswellasmanylesserknownartistsworkinginthemargins,arestilldrawntoallthatismacabre.FromDreams&NightmarestoMattersofMortality,Depravity&DestructiontoGods&Monsters-thisbookintroducessometimesdisturbingandoftenbeautifulartworksthatindulgeourgreatestfears,unitingusashumansfromcenturytocentury.But,whilethesethemesmightscareus-can’ttheyalsobehearteningandbeautiful?Exploringandexaminingtheartworkswiththoughtfulandevocativetext,S.Elizabethoffersinsightintoeachartist’sinfluencesandinspirations,askingwhatcomfortcanbefoundinfacingourdemons?Whyarewetemptedbyfearandthegrotesque?Andwhatdoesthistellusaboutthehumanmind?Ofcourse,sometimesthereisnogoodthatcancomefromthesensibilitiesofdarknessandthesicklyshiversandsensationstheyevoke.Theseareuncomfortablefeelings,andwemustsitforawhilewiththeseshadows-fromthesafetyofourarmchairs.ArtistscoveredincludePabloPicasso,GeorgiaO’Keeffe,FranciscodeGoya,LeonoraCarrington,JohnEverettMillais,TraceyEmin,VincentvanGogh,BarbaraHepworth,PaulCezanne,andSalvadorDal穩,aswellasscoresmore.Withover200carefullycuratedartworksfromacrossthecenturies,TheArtofDarknessexaminesallthatisdarkinabidtohauntandhearten.ThisbookispartoftheArtintheMarginsseries,followinguponTheArtoftheOccult,whichinvestigatesrepresentationsofthemystical,esotericandoccultinartfromacrossdifferenttimesandcultures.
