Scandals, Vandals, and da Vincis

The secret histories of the world’s most famous masterpieces

Caravaggios, Rembrandts, Monets—the works of immortal artists such as these are indelibly imprinted in the public mind; they are priceless masterpieces whose beauty, artistry, and emotional impact have inspired admiration, awe, and envy through the centuries. Yet behind many of these brilliant paintings and sculptures are fascinating, unique histories.

In Scandals, Vandals, and da Vincis, award-winning writer Harvey Rachlin relates in exciting detail how nearly thirty of these works came to be created and how they survived burglary, forgery, revolutions, ransoms, vandals, scandals, religious sects, and shipwrecks to eventually come to their current resting placesHarvey Rachlin is the author of 11 books, including Lucy's Bone's, Sacred Stones, and Einstein's Brain and Jumbo's Hide, Elvis' Ride, and the Tooth of Buddha, which were adapted for the smash-hit History Channel series History's Lost and Found. He has written for the New York Times, The Writer, Law and Order Magazine, and numerous other publications, and is a winner of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music journalism. He has appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs and is an adjunct lecturer in music at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York.