Publisher's Synopsis
From thousands of great works of art, Harvey Rachlin has selected fifty paintings behind whose canvasses lurk the most compelling stories. He describes how many of the world's incomparable masterpieces figured in revolutions, scandals, ransoms, thefts, shipwrecks and much more. Surviving these revolutions, ransoms and shipwrecks, many of our most treasured works of art have passed through the hands of a cast of colourful characters (besides the artists themselves), including kings, queens, wealthy patrons, spies, maruaders, Nazis, art sleuths and even the mentally deranged. "Scandals, Vandals and Da Vincis" is a unique book in the way it frames great masterpieces with true stories as compelling, thrilling, poignant and inspiring as the paintings themselves. It will keep readers riveted while enlightening them about famous masterpieces from around the world.
