One of the most controversial artists of the late nineteenth century, Gabriel von Max (1840-1915) "set hearts beating violently" with his paintings of a somnambulant, crucified woman with a full-blooded swain at her feet and an anatomist pulling back diaphanous cloth from the alabaster corpse of a beautiful young woman. Max's portrayal of the biblical tale of Jairus's daughter being raised from the dead, his polemical depiction of vivisection, and his paintings of melancholic monkeys engaged in various humanlike endeavors stirred the emotions and public debates of his day.

This first publication in English to focus on Gabriel von Max reintroduces the artist's accomplishments and examines the reception of his work in the New World that so fascinated him. Essays by leading European art historians are accompanied by extraordinary illustrations of Max's work and his fictitious account of an adventurous journey to America.