Turner and Italy Book

Disturbing? Yes.

Grotesques with children's bodies... Well-mannered monsters... Dog women... Obese ballerinas in black crepe... Cartoons of regicide... Old naked women looking outward from their pudgy flesh... Weeping vegetables... Depressed animals...Pissing pots... Abortions... Men in drag...

All of her work is eerily lit, resplendent of shadows, and rendered with a Master's virtuosity. Even her most disturbing paintings and pastels are so well crafted and imagined that it is painful to turn away... and so we keep looking'long past a moment of propriety. The viewer definitely gets a sense of his or her voyeurism... and much of the work feels a little naughty.

Paula Rego's colors are breathtaking. Her draftsmanship is superb. And her imagination is fantastic. There is a great deal of psychological depth to her work. She is a Portuguese artist who underwent significant change along with her country, and those growing pains and schisms are apparent. This book is the only "full career retrospective of the artist" and it is a breathtaking look at this artist's passionate response to both the light and the shadows.

Conclusion: This book is worth a nightmare.