In the Maze of Art. A Gift Album. The Unknown Life of Masterpieces from the Sphinx to 'The Scream'

Following whimsical routes from Paris to Tahiti, from Stonehenge to Malta and the Tonga Islands, from Madrid to the Caribbean, from Los Angeles to Naumburg, art historian Gloria Fossi has gathered captivating stories about great and small masterpieces of world art. In her book, she invites the reader to retrace this journey in the footsteps of both world-renowned and unnamed artists from all eras, from prehistoric times to the present day. Whose face does the Great Sphinx in Giza bear? How did Walt Disney draw inspiration from medieval art to create his iconic cartoons? What prompted Munch to leave a piercing message on his famous painting 'The Scream': 'Only a madman could paint such a thing!'? In her witty essays, Gloria Fossi, with her broad scientific and cultural erudition and great affection for the heroes of her stories, sketches a comprehensive picture or, better said, a map of her art historical research, demonstrating an astonishing gift for storytelling. The stories of masterpieces are born before our eyes—just one small detail, unnoticed by most museum visitors, can spark a chain of associations. Magnificent illustrations allow readers to examine famous works of art in minute detail, drawing them into the mysterious maze called art. This book is a true thread of Ariadne for those who are just beginning to learn how to analyze art. Through individual works, the author shows how the same image can be interpreted differently depending on sociopolitical and cultural contexts. Gloria Fossi is an art historian, a living classic of art history, a writer, and an art traveler, the author of the official guide to the Uffizi Gallery.