very strong images of violence

немного об искусстве:

Eric Turquin, a Paris-based painting expert, said that in recent years, some “people from the contemporary art world” have been buying old masters. They were drawn to “very strong images of violence” from the Baroque period, but, he added, “Our buyers are fewer and richer.”

...
Fifty years ago, when the Metropolitan Museum purchased Velázquez’s “Portrait of Juan de Pareja” for $5.5 million at Christie’s in London, a record for any artwork at auction, old masters were the dominant sales category. Last year, they accounted for just 4 percent of auction and private sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, according to data provided to The Times by the companies’ press offices.

--Obsessed by the Present, Who’s Got Time [and money - vs] for Old Masters?

They were drawn to “very strong images of violence” - не это ли называется morbid curiosity