"From the host of the ArtCurious podcast, this book looks at the world of art history, revealing some of the strangest, funniest, and most fascinating stories behind the world's great artists and masterpieces. It demonstrates why art history is, and continues to be, a riveting and relevant world to explore"--

Place of publication obtained from publisher website.

Introduction: ArtCurious, or Why art isn't (always) boring -- The unexpected. Your mom's favorite painter was a badass: Claude Monet and the subversive impressionists ; Secrets and lines: the CIA/AbEx connection ; Was British painter Walter Sickert really Jack the Ripper? ; Sentimental, cheesy, and ... socially conscious: Norman Rockwell and the 1960s -- The slightly odd. The lady vanishes: the (multiple) thefts and forgeries of the Mona Lisa ; A corpse cornucopia: Renaissance artists, anatomy, and the myth of body trafficking ; The (possible) murder of Vincent van Gogh ; The odyssey of an oddity, or the many adventures of Savator Mundi -- The strangely wonderful. Séances and surprises: the spiritualist women who invented modern art ; Booty tunes: the "butt music" of Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights ; A ready-made revelation: is a German baroness responsible for a Marcel Duchamp masterpiece? ; Toenails and junk mail: Andy Warhol's time capsules.