A Shock Grows In Brooklyn

Ten Works of Art That Have Rocked the Ages

Controversial art is no doubt as old as the prehistoric cave paintings. From emperors to mayors, artists and politicians have been natural adversaries. Here are some of the more explosive clashes.

741The Byzantine Iconoclasts ("image-breakers") thought that pictures and statues led to idolatry. The movement peaked under emperor Constantine V in the 8th century, resulting in innumerable white-washed walls and crumbled sculptures.

1541Michelangelo's mighty mural "The Last Judgment" was rebuked by the Vatican for its nude figures and threatened with destruction. But the pope settled for adding drapery.

1863Manet's "Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe" shocked Parisians with its matter-of-fact nudity. Emperor Louis Napoleon called it "an offense against modesty."

1913Duchamp's cubistic "Nude Descending a Staircase" was a sensation at the historic Armory Show in New York. It was lampooned in newspaper cartoons, and Theodore Roosevelt found it much inferior to Navajo blankets.