Prion’s internationally bestselling Sex Lives series presents lighthearted accounts of the sexual escapades of major figures in history, politics, religion, the arts, and film. Irreverent and gossipy, the books are packed with carnal tidbits and eye-opening revelations. It is said that men become artists so that they can persuade attractive young women to take their clothes off. It is also said that the artist and his or her muse are frequently lovers. So what really made Picasso, Gauguin, and Augustus John so insatiable? Why is the Mona Lisa smiling? Does it have anything to do with Leonardo? Who was the prostitute that Van Gogh gave his severed ear to? What did Gaugin do with all those naked brown-skinned Tahitian girls? Turning the easel on many great artists, Cawthorne's portraits give more than an impressionist or abstract view of their sex lives.