Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
The Art of Darkness : A Treasury of the Morbid, Melancholic and Macabre - S. Elizabeth

The Art of Darkness

A Treasury of the Morbid, Melancholic and Macabre

By: S. Elizabeth

Hardcover | 20 September 2022

At a Glance

Hardcover


RRP $49.99

$42.75

14%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $10.69 with

 or 

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

The Art of Darkness is a visually rich sourcebook featuring eclectic artworks from throughout history which have been inspired and informed by the morbid, melancholic and macabre.

Throughout history, artists have been obsessed with darkness - creating works that haunt and horrify, mesmerise and delight and play on our innermost fears. Gentileschi took revenge with paint in Judith Slaying Holofernes while Bosch depicted fearful visions of Hell that still beguile. Victorian Britain became strangely obsessed with the dead and in Norway Munch explored anxiety and fear in one of the most famous paintings in the world (The Scream, 1893). Today, the Chapman Brothers, Damien Hirst and Louise Bourgeois, as well as many lesser known artists working in the margins, are still drawn to all that is macabre.

From Dreams & Nightmares to Existential Dread, Murder & Mayhem to Supernatural Beings - this book introduces sometimes disturbing and often beautiful artworks that indulge our greatest fears, uniting us as humans from century to century.

But, while these themes might scare us - can't they also be heartening and beautiful? Exploring and examining the artworks with thoughtful and evocative text, S. Elizabeth offers insight into each artist's influences and inspirations, asking what comfort can be found in facing our demons?Why are we tempted by fear and the grotesque? And what does this tell us about the human mind?

Of course, sometimes there is no good that can come from the sensibilities of darkness and the sickly shivers and sensations they evoke. These are uncomfortable feelings, and we must sit for a while with these shadows - from the safety of our armchairs.

With over 200 carefully curated artworks from across the centuries, The Art of Darkness examines all that is dark in a bid to haunt and hearten.

About the Author

S. Elizabeth (aka Mlle Ghoul) is a Florida-based writer specialising in art, the macabre and the supernatural. She is a staff writer at Haute Macabre and has written for 'Coilhouse', 'Dirge' and 'Death and the Maiden Blog'.

S. Elizabeth was also the co-creator of The Occult Activity Book (vol 1 and 2) and runs two successful blogs: Ghoul Next Door and These Unquiet Things.

More in History of Art & Design Styles

Yuluwirri : A First Nations colouring book - Lakkari Pitt

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF
Unseen : Art and Crime in Australia - Penelope Jackson

RRP $39.99

$33.75

16%
OFF
Seinfeld Festivus Pop-up Advent Calendar - Editors of Thunder Bay Press

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
My Story, Our Country : A First Nations Family History - Ryhia Dank
Monsters : What Do We Do with Great Art by Bad People? - Claire Dederer
The Art of Witch Hat Atelier - Kamome Shirahama

RRP $65.00

$48.99

25%
OFF
Bush Modern : Hand-crafted homes on the edge of the city - Sean Fennessy
Wicked Deluxe Stationery Set : Wicked - Insight Editions

RRP $75.00

$55.75

26%
OFF
Destination Anime! : An Anime Lover's Guide to Tokyo - Barbara Rossi
What a Ripper! : 60 everyday objects that shaped Australia - Tim Ross
Holbein : Renaissance Master - Elizabeth Goldring

RRP $82.95

$60.75

27%
OFF
I Am. We Are. Liberty - Ester Coen

RRP $175.00

$121.75

30%
OFF
J.W. Power : An Australian Avant-gardist - Ann Stephen

RRP $59.99

$47.75

20%
OFF
Dinner with van Gogh : Dinner Date Jigsaw Puzzle - Iratxe López de Munáin
12 Days of Arcane : A Pin Collector's Countdown - Insight Editions

RRP $79.99

$58.99

26%
OFF
JoJo A-Go!Go! : JoJo A-Go!Go! - Hirohiko Araki

RRP $43.99

$34.75

21%
OFF
Needles Out : BOHO Embroidery: Mixed Media Techniques - Nichole Vogelsinger