{"product_id":"9781797221762","title":"The Madman's Gallery: The Strangest Paintings, Sculptures and Other Curiosities from the History of Art","description":"\u003cb\u003eEnter \u003ci\u003eThe Madman’s Gallery\u003c\/i\u003e and discover an extraordinary, illustrated exhibition of the greatest curiosities from the global history of art, featuring one hundred magnificently eccentric antique paintings, engravings, illustrations, and sculptures, each with a fascinatingly bizarre story to tell.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Brought to light from the depths of libraries, museums, dealers, and galleries around the world, these forgotten artistic treasures include portraits of oddballs such as the British explorer with a penchant for riding crocodiles, and the Italian monk who levitated so often he’s recognized as the patron saint of airplane passengers. Discover impossible medieval land yachts, floating churches, and eagle-powered airships. Encounter dog-headed holy men, armies of German giants, 18th-century stuntmen, human chessboards, screaming ghost heads, and more marvels of the human imagination. A captivating odditorium of obscure and engaging characters and works, each expertly brought to life by historian and curator of the strange Edward Brooke-Hitching, here is a richly illustrated and entertaining gallery for lovers of outré art and history. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A GLOBAL SURVEY: Here are European painters who used ground up Egyptian mummies as pigment, examples of the antique Japanese art of \u003ci\u003eGyotaku \u003c\/i\u003e(fish stone rubbings) using dried fish as printing plates, a Parisian art hoax featuring paintings actually created by a chimpanzee, and much more.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ODDITIES ABOUND: Depictions of the demon worms believed to cause toothaches carved into human molars: Check. A nude version of the Mona Lisa painted by the “bad boy” apprentice of Leonardo da Vinci: Here it is. The most admiring portrait of a cannibal likely ever produced: Presented in full color.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e EXPERT AUTHOR: Edward Brooke-Hitching is a master of taking visually driven deep dives into unusual historical subjects, such as the maps of imaginary geography in \u003ci\u003eThe Phantom Atlas\u003c\/i\u003e or ancient pathways through the stars in \u003ci\u003eThe Sky Atlas\u003c\/i\u003e, imaginative depictions of heavens, hells, and afterworlds in \u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Atlas\u003c\/i\u003e, and the strangest books imaginable in \u003ci\u003eThe Madman’s Library\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Perfect for: \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Fans of beautifully illustrated works, art history, and unusual world atlas collections \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Readers of quirky history such as \u003ci\u003eSchott’s Miscellany\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAtlas Obscura\u003c\/i\u003e, and the wildly popular \u003ci\u003eQI\u003c\/i\u003e series (for which the author is a writer and researcher) \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Gift for a graduate, teacher, or student of world history, art history, library science, archeology, sociology, or any discipline engaged in the exploration of curiosities and human nature \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Chronicle Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42370593882173,"sku":"9781797221762","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0603\/0838\/9949\/files\/9781797221762_p0.jpg?v=1771567191","url":"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.com\/products\/9781797221762","provider":"Tattered Cover","version":"1.0","type":"link"}