This was not what I thought it would be. An okay book to browse when you have nothing to do. It's unfortunate to have to attribute this book such a low rating, but the whole thing feels like a case of half-hearted attempts at humour and political correctness.

On Twitter, Nicole Tersigni paired a classic painting with a sardonic caption capturing mansplaining at its best. The thread engendered this book, 𝘔𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦, a hilarious compilation divided into five sections—the mansplainer, the concern troll, the comedian, the sexpert, and the patronizer—filled with classic art paired with eerily appropriate modern text. The paintings couldn’t be more perfect: the expressions on the women’s faces, the body language, and the presumption of the men perfectly fit the jokes.

Ludek Marold’s “A Man and Woman in a Park” for example, represents the man in the painting as saying, “I think you should let me present your idea. You’re so beautiful, it’s distracting.” (A concern troll.) Sir Peter Lely’s portrait of Sir Henry Capel with a woman’s statue, hand on her breast, says, “You’re not like other girls.” (A patronizer.) Some of the captions are things most women have probably heard a million times, and laughing at them is refreshing! The art itself is lovely, too, and nicely reproduced, with selections from the Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Rijksmuseum, The National Gallery of Art, and more.

𝘔𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 is a great book for women who find themselves rolling their eyes at the things (some) men say and would make an ideal gift!

A absolutely hilarious book! I was laughing so hard while reading this. This is the perfect mixture of comedy and art, and I absolutely loved it. A seriously funny book!

I mean, what is not to like about this? Beautiful, clever and cultured with a mild potty mouth? This little volume made my morning!

Men to Avoid in Art and Life by Nicole Tersigni is a great blend of classic art, humor, and social commentary. The captions in this book are spot on and the body language on these ladies show how woman have been sick of men's bull for centuries and that there were Chads even back in the Renaissance. I love the juxtaposition of the art and captions as the men weigh in on things such as PMS, how a woman should dress, and why their jokes are funny and not effective. I
This fantastic book separates the men into five different categories including "the mansplainer" and "the comedian."
Many thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

A very different type of book. Here there are art pieces from art galleries featuring one man and woman. And there is commentary written to describe their state and conversation in the book.
Maximum captions and sections are feministic and thrash man as a art character.
I found all art pieces had beautiful ladies and ugly men.
It was funny, different and good. Benefit of seeing great artwork and funny captions on them. I found it good.
Thanks netgalley and publisher for review copy.

If art museum plaques read like this, I would visit all the time! The author crafts social commentary through a creative combination of gorgeous classic art pieces and terribly unfortunate quotes from men. With an introduction from Jen Kirkman! ARC courtesy of NetGalley, Chronicle Books, and Nicole Tersigni -- thank you!

How much of art is women looking bored while men go on? About the same as happens in life, I suspect.
If you're looking for some commiserating snark, this is your book. Equal parts funny and annoyingly relatedable - because who hasn't heard most of these? - this is a good one to share with the girlfriends.
Super fast read, as it's just captions on the paintings. Handy art credits in the back will save you from scratching your head thinking “I know this one, but what is it??” for too long.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. It gave me a few laughs, and I found one or two of the pictures especially relatable. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

short classical meme book made from Twitter thread. this is the kind of book that made you laught through tears because it is so real that is tragic. in my home country (Slovakia) we have right now quite big problem of sexual harassment (it started with one actor, then it just fell deeper and deeper in the blackhole of harassment) so some of pictures were (still) pretty accurate. with some of them my pressure just get high.

<i>"Don't you think it's silly to get upset about how women are portrayed in media, when there are bigger problems in the world?"</i>
ugh, please.

Had this book not been so short and filled with pictures I am not sure I would have had enough to keep me going. It fell short of the mark with pop-culture phrases and little more to offer. I had hoped to find the material intellectually compelling and comically social political and even maybe even a satirical tone of voice. I feel that there are aspects in art, artists and the history of art that could be used to help urge along the point: men can still be sexist.

There has never been a more feminist time in history, and it has taken the gender centuries to get to this point. Women have often been seen as property, lesser-than, fragile and inept. As art progressed through periods of time and in various cultures the women they depict vary both in how they appear (in dress and in presence), act, and portrayal. For example, it is not uncommon to see art prior to the 19th Amendment (1920) in which women are seated while the man stands. This was to show the woman was subservient to the man. However, there are plenty of women throughout history that broke the mold. This book could be a really wonderful and powerful indicator of women's power and strength if it were to incorporate more information about the artist, the period, and the motifs of the artwork. As it is now, there is a hugely missed opportunity for education to help further hammer the point home: despite all they have done over the centuries, men continue to treat women with many of same sexist ideals.

The book wasn't that funny for me. However, I appreciated the beautiful art (and I noticed how most women in the paintings looked like they're tired of the men with them) and I had learned a lot about the different ways men think they're better than women.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

First of all, this is real and necessary and beautiful so f*ing hilarious :). And I have to own it
This book found a very special way to resonate with me... As someone who loves art, as a woman, as a feminist who couldn't possibly get why this book was funny ;D.
The world of gender equality has ways to go still, but everything helps. This book helps.
I did however find a small issue, one that exists in the art world for quite sometime. 99% of the artists who painted the works displayed here were men. I attended a art exhibt in São Paulo last year where they worked to portray works of female paintors through time, and one of the things they commented on was the lack of difficulty other museums made to lend the pieces, like they mattered less somehow... There's that case of a revered european paintor, whose works lost recognition when, centuries later it was revealed that she was actually female. I can't possibly imagine that the painting itself changed, that it stopped being objectively good... I digress... What I mean is, this could have been a platform where works women were also showed. And it would have been awesome.
However, we cannot as women say that there is a wrong way to feminism, that can only make suffer the movement. That is to say, yes, this work would have been better if it had been also painted by women, when talking about women, but this is also a beautiful endeavor that is talking about our issues already, and it deserves it's credit for that.
I really loved the iniciatiative and I hope more people are as inspired as I am,

A hilarious collection of classic art memes that draw attention to how very done women have been with men's B.S. since the beginning of time.

"I'm sure you don't realize this, but you're coming off a little bossy." Honestly this entire book had me laughing straight from the foreword by comedian Jen Kirkman. I'm usually one of those readers who skips forewords to look at the art, but this one is not to be missed! I found the quotes in this book highly applicable to both art connoisseurs and meme creators, but especially to women, all women, everywhere.
Nicole Tersigni has created a unique blending of tweet-worthy quotes and fine art pieces with dada-ish flair. This book will appeal to anyone who can appreciate good humor and fine art--and especially the expressions on some of those long-ago women. It has definitely made me want to rethink how I view a painting the next time I'm in a museum or gallery. Overall, a refreshingly fun, feminist take on the modern art book. I know a few friends who could use a copy for their coffee table!

When I saw this book it reminded me of the bit from Hannah Gadsby’s new special, Douglas, where she makes up stories for old paintings. Sometimes it’s good to laugh at the ridiculous things that women are told, and to find a common exasperation with the women of history. My only complaint was that I wanted more.

This is a tongue-in-cheek book using classic art to create memes that poke fun at aspects of toxic masculinity. It is a quick ready and a fun book, with something to make you laugh on every page. Some of the captions are cringe-worthy; others are hilarious and you will want send immediately to your friends to enjoy. Many of us have viewed works of art by the great masters with a smart-aleck remark at the ready - but this book stays a jump ahead! Cute, funny, and irreverent, this book will entertain and amuse you!

A fun coffee table book for a feminist art lover!

I enjoyed this quick romp through art history - the book pairs works of art with some truly terrible male behavior with entertaining results! It's not a "laugh out loud" kind of humor, but I did chuckle at many of the captions, especially in the Sexpert and the Patronizer chapters. The focus here is on the image and text juxtaposition rather than the history of the art itself, but the image details are provided at the end of the book for those interested in learning more.

Thank you to Chronicle Books for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Particularly if you love art and recognise some of these paintings, this book is incredibly funny. In fact, even if you don't like art, it's still entertaining. My personal favourite is the mansplaining section, even if it's just a little ~too real at times, you know? 10/10, would definitely buy for my friends.

Engraçado e sarcástico, são palavras que definem muito bem esse livro. A junção de pinturas clássicas com piadas de cunho feminista recheadas de sarcasmo é genial... O livro desperta várias risadas com seu humor ácido e, também, resignifica as telas de uma forma singular e oposta do que elas originalmente representariam... É uma leitura super rápida e que faz com que o leitor não queria parar até chegar a última página.