Bad Blood: Rivalry and Art History, Paperback

Why is there so much bad blood involved in the stories of artists and their artworks? Immerse yourself in 18 infamous artistic rivalries, dramatized with gripping moments of narrative, to understand how the rivalries that art fans love to gossip about serve a larger purpose in the way cultures approach the idea of art and the artist. Why did Michelangelo loathe Raphael for decades after the latter had died? How did Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse balance their perpetual competition with a lifelong friendship? What transgression pitted the notorious titans of the London graffiti scene, Banksy and King Robbo, in a rivalry that ended with a tragic and unforeseeable death? An investigative journey transforms some of the "big names" of the art world into real people--often grumpy, ornery, antagonistic, and flawed--and better reveals how all of us respond to art.

Clayton Schuster is a writer and art critic in the San Francisco Bay area. Sartle.com is a project devoted to democratizing art history by focusing on the stories that are often ignored in textbooks.