Johannes Vermeer, one of the greatest Dutch painters and for some
the single greatest painter of all, produced a remarkably small
corpus of work. In Vermeer's Family Secrets, Benjamin Binstock
revolutionizes how we think about Vermeer's work and life. Vermeer,
The Sphinx of Delft, is famously a mystery in art: despite the
common claim that little is known of his biography, there is
actually an abundance of fascinating information about Vermeer's
life that Binstock brings to bear on Vermeer's art for the first
time; he also offers new interpretations of several key documents
pertaining to Vermeer that have been misunderstood. Lavishly
illustrated with more than 180 black and white images and more than
sixty color plates, the book also includes a remarkable color
two-page spread that presents the entirety of Vermeer's oeuvre
arranged in chronological order in 1/20 scale, demonstrating his
gradual formal and conceptual development. No book on Vermeer has
ever done this kind ofvisual comparison of his complete output.
Like Poe's purloined letter, Vermeer's secrets are sometimes out in
the open where everyone can see them. Benjamin Binstock shows us
where to look. Piecing together evidence, the tools of art history,
and his own intuitive skills, he gives us for the first time a
history of Vermeer's work in light of Vermeer's life.
On almost every page of Vermeer's Family Secrets, there is a
perception or an adjustment that rethinks what we know about
Vermeer, his oeuvre, Dutch painting, and Western Art. Perhaps the
most arresting revelation of Vermeer's Family Secrets is the final
one: In response to inconsistencies in technique, materials, and
artistic level, Binstock posits thatseveral of the paintings
accepted as canonical works by Vermeer, are in fact not by Vermeer
at all but by his eldest daughter, Maria. How he argues this is one
of the book's many pleasures.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
