An absolute indispensable meditation on dark art, that finds the perfect balance between the creative and personal and academic article.

As a lifelong art obsessive with a fixation on the dark side of life, The Art of Darkness by S. Elizabeth is an answer to my prayers and a dream come true. Tastefully curated and meticulously researched, The Art of Darkness is a cornucopia of decadence, delirium, magic and madness, all laid out in an intuitive and attractive way that is easy to navigate yet aids surprise discoveries.

Even more impressively, Elizabeth uses art to illustrate some complex, subtle and nuanced philosophies. Francis Bacon's "Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X" wouldn't have been my first pick as a way to illustrate Existentialism, yet once pointed out it's impossible to unsee. I've loved that painting for 20 years, and now I look at it in a whole new way.

The Art of Darkness is organized by theme, from mental illness to physical maladies. Each section includes a cross-section of well-known works and lesser-known pieces. Even better still, many of the pieces found in The Art of Darkness are from contemporary artists from all over the world, as well, so you'll get two fistfuls of new favorites while you bask in the delicious reproductions of your favorite macabre artworks.

The Art of Darkness is a work of stunning beauty and impressive scholarship. It's a joy for the senses ad the mind - absolutely essential for all lovers of dark and macabre art and one of the most beautiful art books of the year.

This book is a wide collection of art that all fall under the category “dark art”. This is a very broad term for art as it can mean a lot of different things, and this book does an excellent job at capturing lots of different types!
I really enjoyed scrolling through this book and seeing all the different art pieces, i adore dark art. The blurbs that go along with each piece are really insightful into the background of the art as well!
I’d definitely recommend this to any dark art lovers!!

Another wonderful book by Quarto books.
These books are unique and distinctly attractive.
This one has a collection of art pieces with dark themes. Divided into sections based on subthenes like God's, monsters, death, dreams. Wonderful and thought provoking paintings. Full of insightful quotes. Each section has a short Introduction to the topic.
Below each art piece there is a small relevant explaination.
A book full of intresting art work.

Have you ever had a book you didn’t know you needed and then the moment you picked it up, you weren’t sure how you’d ever lived without it? I’ve had many works of fiction hit me like that, but The Art of Darkness is the first art book I’ve had those kinds of feelings about.

If you love Halloween, the creepy, the macabre, or the just plain weird, this book may be for you. Go on an adventure through the human psyche and the different and bizarre ways ideas, people, and things have been envisioned over time. Some of these images are disturbing, some are awe inspiring, and some are just plain creepy, but all of them are powerful.

I can see myself pulling this book out over and over just to contemplate a painting or drawing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for the digital ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! It’s quick, informative, good ratio of text and pictures. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend the book to anyone

Author S. Elizabeth is back with a delightful sourcebook of morbid and macabre artwork that truly captures The Art of Darkness.  With interesting facts on the individual pieces, as well as a study of why we are drawn to the darkness. S. Elizabeth explores mortality, dreams and nightmares, the monsters that haunt us, and how our anxieties about death appear in art. 

From artists like Artemesia Gentileschi, to Hieronymus Bosch, to modern artists like Paul Koudounaris and Damien Hirch, The Art of Darkness is a beautiful book and worthy of falling headfirst into. Author S. Elizabeth does a wonderful job of inserting bits of humor into the work as well, making the book not only gorgeous but accessible to those who don't obsess about the art world. 

If you're into the bizarre, you're going to love The Art of Darkness.

This book is a feast for the eyes of spooky people everywhere. S. Elizabeth guides us through the history of dark art, exploring themes of mental illness, bodily afflictions, death, ghosts, and more. Each section of the book is introduced to us in a way that sets up the historical context of the type of art we’re about to experience. There are so many incredible works of art in these pages, and S. Elizabeth’s fun and conversational tone is far from the pretentiousness and dryness that can be prevalent in art history books. With there being art from 2021 and mentions of our current world, I do wish there had been an exploration into protest art and the darkness of systematic racism and violence in our modern world. Overall, fascinating book!

It is what it says on the cover - the book for dark art lovers.
I love the idea of it and overall it looks executed really well. I have seen quite a few familiar names and works but it was also refreshing to see some very current (we're talking year 2020-2021) pieces of work.
I have to admit since I have seen this book as an ebook (courtesy of Netgalley and Quarto Books), the viewing experience was not excellent. It's not just a book of text, it has a lot of pictures, so for example, viewing pictures of double spread is not great because... well, you just can't view the whole picture properly. So if you're thinking of getting it - get it in a paper version. I haven't seen it as such in print (yet), so I can't judge its quality, but I have my hopes up! Because it definitely deserves it.
While the image and themes selection is great, there could be.... more! I am convinced, that this book could be at least three times bigger or run into the series. It would just be fabulous.
Either way, it's a great none too big book, good for an introduction to this quite particular topic. Bonus - there is a further reading list at the end of the book, which can be really beneficial!

This isn't my typical read but doesn't mean I didn't love every second of it I'm so glad I read it and got a copy from netgalley I loved everything second of it and couldn't put it down until I was finished reading

I am a lover of all things dark, stories, films and art so this wonderful book was perfect for me.

The subject matter may be upsetting to some readers but the title should be self explanatory for those of a more delicate nature.

I absolutely loved the theme of the book in embracing darkness as a part of our lives banishing the "good vibes only" philosophy.

Themes in art explored include nightmares, mortality, destruction, gods and monsters and my personal favourite eerie entities.

There is a lovely balance between discussion and pictures of the artwork.

This is definitely a book I will continue to return to.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC for an honest review.

I absolutely can’t wait to buy this book for real and put it on my coffee table. Mind blowing exhibition of all dark art. I was absolutely spellbound by the beauty of the pieces exhibited.

Intriguing, informative, alluring. No, but it was actually really interesting. I’m glad I had a chance to read it. It showcased primarily Euro-Centric art, which is neither a positive nor a negative—but a good starting point for a volume two which may expand on the subject, and examine both different cultures and different mediums.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

This is a really cool book. It seemed to be mostly European artists with some Asian and Frida Kahlo stuck in. I think I would have liked to see some African artists, who I'm sure explored darkness too. Maybe there were some, but I didn't notice. It's a really cool concept, and I liked the exploration into the topic -- especially how it was divided into thematic sections. It's impossible (for me) to look at this book and think, "This painting should have been included), but it would also be impossible to include every piece of dark art. However, there were so many pieces I'd never seen and now want to research.

The Art of Darkness, by S. Elizabeth is a terrorific collection of works. I think this would make a fascinating Art History course. It’s one I would’ve loved to take! I’d say after taking 5 art history courses, I’d only been exposed to about 10% of the works covered here. The artists were more familiar, but the specific works were not! And yes, as an artist I do feel a strong connection to the darkness, as are many! I’m so glad I have had a chance to read and study these works, and have already recommended the book to other friends. My only complaint (and it’s a common one in art collections like this) is that there are very few examples of 3D work, and zero were ceramic. This is a wasted opportunity, but perhaps a good jumping off point for volume two? 😬
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I loved it.

This book is mainly showcased euro-centric art pieces and artists. That being said, this was an interesting collection. I think there were some better and more diverse pieces and artists that could have been involved.

This is a gorgeous book. As an Art History student ánd lover of everything dark, this was an absolutely perfect read, and I am definitely going to buy a physical copy of this.

This book was a beautiful exploration of the macabre and dark side of the human psyche. I would love to have this as a coffee table book in my home. I found the art to be evocative and much of it was new to me, which I was pleasantly surprised by. I did find some of the author’s interludes to be a bit overwrought and verbose, but it didn’t take away from the overall book enough for me to be entirely distracted.

This book is gorgeous! Full of creepy, intriguing and stunning art work that is just compelling and fascinating to look at, complete with lots of info too!