The Man Who Ate the Mona Lisa
A novel by Marcell Pátkai
Title: The Man Who Ate the Mona Lisa
Genre: (33,000 words) novel, satire on the art world
Theme: What happens when an imposter tries to pose as a world-famous artist?
In brief: Supported by a young painter, a homeless imposter sells himself as a famous Jordanian performance artist and becomes a member of the artistic elite. By the time he realizes this life is not for him, he cannot escape. However, he finally gets unmasked by the painter, who declares the fake artist image to be his own art-creation.
Plot: Postmodern artworks often leave people baffled, offering a potentially rich mine for humour to exploit. This satirical story leads the reader through the confusing world of contemporary art. The story is set an unidentified city somewhere in the West. Stack, an ambitious young painter, pulls off the biggest coup. With a throwaway line he turns the homeless Albert into a celebrated Jordanian performance artist named Ali. The vagrant is taken up by a glamorous Russian collector, with whom he achieves sudden success until his ultimate unmasking. That comes when Stack and his curator lover write their names into art history by revealing the truth: Ali is a fake, a creation of Stack’s art. A great career still awaits Albert as a performer, but instead he decides to become a plumber.
Main characters: Ali /Albert (54): An introvert hobo, he’s clever and has his heart in the right place. Stack (36): A young painter still searching for success who has been turned into a nihilist by failure and impatience. Kathrin (24): a young curator and art historian, Stack’s gorgeous lover who is totally in awe of contemporary art. She is always right but lacks confidence. Zavarzina (51): Rich Russian collector and art consultant who falls in love with Ali and uses her influence to turn him a worldwide-famous artist.
The target audience: 16+ readers with an interest in the arts.
Most important reviews:
“Art history has its victims as well as its stars.”
Margó Hungarian Literature award 2019, shortlisted
“Marcell Pátkai will have you laughing with his insider’s view of the relationship between contemporary art and the art market.”
Book review by Tünde Sipos at ÉS – Élet és Irodalom
(The most popular offline and online art journal of Hungary
LXIII. évfolyam, 50. szám, 2019. december 13.)
“Comic situations, absurd personalities — Marcell Pátkai’s book guides you round the elitist world of artists, curators and dealers.”
Artlocator magazine – Etentuk Inemesit, chief editor
“Book of the Week”
ÉS – Élet és Irodalom
(LXIII., 30., 2019. július 26.)
“Frankenstein of the art world.”
Kossuth Radio – ‘Dash’ (Gondolat-Jel) podcast by Adrienne Farkas (October 2019)
“Art history scandal.
A revealing novel that lays bare the secrets of contemporary art and the art dealing world in a highly entertaining manner.”
Trend FM Radio – ‘The collector’, podcast by Kata Gereben (February 2020)
Roundtable discussions and interviews: (1) Kossuth Klub Budapest (June 2019), (2) Resident Art Garten - Lovas (August 2019), (3) Art Market Budapest (October 2019), Kossuth Radio (October 2019), Trend FM Radio (February 2020),
Published in Hungarian 2019 by L’Harmattan.
Illustrations and book cover by Áron Gauder.
