Sadistic Iconography. Portraits and Stories of Martyrs and Saints

Christian iconography for many centuries has been a source of inspiration for artists and sculptors. This remarkable book tells how unusually the extraordinary destinies of the first Christian martyrs and saints were brought to life in the art of different eras. You will learn how these women lived, what feats and miracles they performed in the name of their faith, how artists depicted them—and why. If you liked Sergey Zotov’s book “Iconographic Chaos,” then “Sado-masochistic Iconography” will reveal another, unknown aspect of European art!

Alina Nikonova is an art historian, museum professional, and popularizer of art, a PhD candidate in art history, author of several bestsellers about art, and of a popular blog on LiveJournal dedicated to art: nikonova_alina.livejournal.com. She is the creator and curator of the Memorial Museum N. K. Guselnikov “Man Creating” in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region.