Looking at Art from the Inside Out The Psychoiconographic Approach to Modern Art - Contemporary Artists and Their Critics

Looking at Art from the Inside Out highlights the role played by the psychological world of the artist in shaping the subject-matter and form of art works. Analysing masterpieces by Manet, Gauguin, Magritte and Picasso, Mary Mathews Gedo, who is trained in both art history and clinical psychology, details how the creative process can transform the artist's inner world into public statements meaningful for a broad audience. Demonstrating how biological predisposition, familial relationships and childhood experiences of future artists play a pivotal role in shaping their careers, she merges formal, iconographic and psychobiographical elements to provide unique insight into their production. Gedo's approach also restores to the artist his or her place at the centre of art history and critical inquiry.