Everything you Know About Art is Wrong

A highly entertaining read for anyone with even a passing interest in art and art history.

This myth-busting book takes you on a great ride through the lives of starving (and not so starving) artists, unusual exhibitions and painting blunders throughout history. Think that the Mona Lisa is the most reproduced image in history? Think again - it's the face of Queen Elizabeth II on stamps and currency around the world. Think that Vincent van Gogh chopped his own ear off? Think again - Paul Gauguin lopped it off with a sword during a heated argument. Also, learn which famous painting led a bunch of Oxford academics to create a flute that can be played with your bottom, and why there is a bust of Lenin at the South Pole.

Packed with details on popular artworks, it explodes a range of myths from the fame of the Mona Lisa (when it was stolen in 1911, more people visited the Louvre to see the empty space than the painting itself) to which famous artist designed the Chupa Chups logo. Myths regarding techniques, circumstances and lives of artists are all covered to give you a fascinating insight into the true history of art.

About the Author

Matt Brown holds degrees in Chemistry (BSc) and Biomolecular Science (MRes). He has served as a scientific editor and writer at both Reed Elsevier and Nature Publishing Group, and has contributed to several previous science books, including Defining Moments in Science (2008, Cassell) and 1001 Inventions That Changed the World (2009, Cassell). He served as the Royal Institution's quizmaster for several years, and has also put on science quizzes for the Royal Society, Manchester Science Museum, STEMPRA and the Hunterian Museum.

He recently gave a lecture about Michael Faraday while rotating around the London Eye. With comedian Helen Keen, he co-hosted a series of successful 'Spacetacular!' science-themed stage shows, culminating in a sell-out 2013 show at Leicester Square Theatre. Matt is also the author of London Day and Night (2015, Batsford), as well as forthcoming books Everything You Know About London is Wrong and Everything You Know About England is Wrong (also from Batsford).