Every Picture Hides a Story: The Secret Ways Artists Make Their Work More Seductive

The hidden messages embedded in acclaimed paintings are exposed in this effective examination of the work of 22 artists. Drawing on Wilson Bryan Key’s Subliminal Seduction, a 1973 book about advertising techniques, Cane (The Art of Kissing) and art historian Gabrielle focus on the subliminal—that which “lies below the threshold of conscious awareness”—in their analysis of paintings such as Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring; the authors write that the girl’s teardrop-shaped earring is “a symbol of chastity” that “conveys a message about the girl’s interior life.” On Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss, the authors conclude that “the couple pressed together forms an erotic shape that represents sexuality.” The breezy narrative features the authors’ humorous asides (in praise of John William Godward’s use of perspective: “Put that in your pipe, Picasso, and smoke it!”) and vivid descriptions of each painting (on John Singer Sargent’s Madame X: “Those two oval-shaped loops on top of the bodice of Madame’s black velvet evening dress rise up to cover her chest like Mickey Mouse ears”). This accessible study of the messages hidden in plain sight will challenge readers to rethink familiar works of art. (Nov.)