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During the first seventy years of the seventeenth century the Dutch town of Delft emerged as one of the most important artistic centers in the Netherlands. Although famous as the birthplace of the painter Johannes Vermeer, Delft was also home to an extended community of masters that included among many others Pieter de Hooch and Carel Fabritius. In this accessible introduction to the key Delft artists, Axel Rüger places Vermeer's masterpieces within their historical and artistic context.This book, accompanying a major loan exhibition at the National Gallery, London, reveals how artistic and cultural developments of the early seventeenth century paved the way for the flowering of art in the city, culminating in the master works of the 1650s and 1660s. Investigating the artistic production of the city genre by genre, the author builds a picture of the so-called Delft School and its influences.Although painting from this time is probably best known for Vermeer's serene scenes of everyday life, his contemporaries chose many different subjects. The church interiors of Gerard Houckgeest and Emanuel de Witte, the atmospheric landscapes and townscapes of Paulus Potter and Daniel Vosmaer, and the elegant portraits of Michiel van Miereveld all represent significant aspects of Delft's rich heritage, and all are reproduced here. The artists' shared interest in the close observation of reality, and their preoccupation with light and atmospheric effects, link together the works they produced. From Vermeer's world-famous masterpieces to the less familiar works of the period, all these refined paintings reflect a powerful sensibility to the visual aspects of the world as their makers perceived it. ... Read more

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Descartes believed that his analytic model applied to all fields of research and that all branches of science lead to truth. His many analogies with literature and art notwithstanding, Descartes offers an entry into knowledge that fails nevertheless to take into account how in the seventeenth century Dutch painters such as Vermeer similarly order a view of the world by concentrating on the properties of individual objects. Descartes's celebrated scientific method offers a protocol for conducting experiments; Harriet Stone argues that this method can also serve as a guide for classifying the findings obtained from experiments. Tables of Knowledge shows that Dutch genre paintings and still lifes enact in visual form a process of recording information similar to that of science, with intriguing results.

Stone investigates such diverse topics as seventeenth-century advances in optics and the attendant explosion of data about the natural world; the proliferation of material goods in prosperous Dutch homes; and the compelling realism of Golden Age paintings.

Vermeer and his contemporaries, she contends, transform a potentially threatening consumerism into the viewer's aesthetic pleasure. The artists' depictions of rooms where framed images and maps adorn walls and where fruit, shimmering glassware, gold pieces, and other precious items are set out on tables constitute an inventory of middle-class life. Appealing to both the eye and the mind, Dutch paintings convey meaning by accentuating the luxury of objects displayed in all their specificity. While not without its voyeuristic, sensual, and even lascivious overtones, art offered the Dutch, who labored under the moral austerity of the Protestant Church, a way of bearing witness to ordinary experience that was unmistakably satisfying and surprisingly Cartesian.

Illustrated with sixteen pages of color reproductions of Dutch masterworks, as well as five black-and-white images, Tables of Knowledge will interest intellectual and cultural historians of the early modern period, art historians, and historians and philosophers of science. ... Read more

Product Description
Continuously in print for more than 20 years, Abrams' Masters of Art series has always been known for its exceptional quality and value. Now these classic volumes devoted to the lives and works of the world's greatest painters have been newly redesigned and released in paperback for the first time. Comprehensive introductory texts written by distinguished art historians provide incisive and informative portraits of the artists, and their analysis is accompanied by sketches, related works by other artists, and black-and-white photographs. Each book features 40 full-page, full-color plates with commentaries on the facing page.

Jan Vermeer's mysterious and poetic paintings-with their luminous power and their simple, studied, everyday scenes-continue to fascinate us. This volume reproduces all of Vermeer's known works, including Saint Praxedis, which had only recently been validated by scholars as an important early work of the artist at the time of the book's original publication. ... Read more

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The mystery underlying Vermeer's use of light and perspective has led to an almost cult-like appreciation of this in many ways mystifying artist. Vermeer profiles the life and works of the distinguished seventeenth-century artist, analyzes him within the context of other artists of the period, and examines how his social origins and domestic environment shaped his work.

Though he was a modestly successful painter/art dealer who was well-respected in Delft, Vermeer never gained much of a reputation outside his hometown and was forgotten almost entirely after his death. In the nineteenth century he was "rediscovered," and since the beginning of the twentieth has been considered one of the finest painters ever.

In this impressive and informative work, the artist's origins and home environment are revealed and his paintings are displayed and discussed within the context of time alongside a history of the influences and repercussions of this master's art.

This lavishly illustrated and beautifully bound edition includes reproductions of all of Vermeer's paintings, many of the works of his contemporaries, and documents relating to his life and city, Delft. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Caveat Emptor
The content of this book is good. The reproductions are of a high standard and the views presented are balanced and sometimes stimulating.
HOWEVER,the editorial quality of this book is appalling. The references to the various illustrations are frequently inaccurate. In the "Catalogue" at the end, virtually all of the references to illustrations (figure 114 etc) are incorrect. On page 139, the text from the bottom of page 138 is repeated. The text that should appear at the bottom of page 139 (three lines probably) has disappeared entirely so that there is no continuity in the text. The same error occurs on page 146 so that again some text is repeated and some three lines of text are omitted.
Given the price of the book, one would think they could have afforded to have someone proof-read it!

Recycled Gloss
This edition is overwhelmingly a rehash of the original volume initially published in 1986, dressed up a bit with better reproductions of some of Vermeer's paintings but otherwise undistinguished. The Dutch art historian, Albert Blankert, continues to doubt the authenticity of Vermeer's Girl with a Red Hat, for wholly unpersuasive reasons, and therefore excludes this amazing painting from the main text. For better but not entirely convincing reasons, he also excludes the National Gallery's Young Girl with a Flute, a painting almost certainly done by Vermeer but likely reworked badly by another's hand, so that it lacks Vermeer's magical refinement.

This book as well does not include a reference to the most recently recognized addition to Vermeer's canon, Young Woman at the Virginals, an attribution now with a history of more than five years.Moreover, one would have appreciated a recent reproduction of Vermeer's newly cleaned and restored The Procuress, an early work that presaged the artist's rather extensive use of the camera obscura. The restoration honors Vermeer's original intentions magnificently, bringing forth a silvery light not seen previously.

For the best volume showcasing high quality reproductions of Vermeer's work, one should consult Walter Leidtke's Vermeer and the Dutch School. For a comprehensive history revealing what is known about Vermeer and his milieu, do read Michael Montias' book (and not the precis contained in this volume). For a terrific digest of Vermeer's art and history, buy Anthony Bailey's Vermeer: A View of Delft.

essential, but not up to date
The colour reproductions are partially good, but most of them do not live up to modern standards of colour management.
Also problematic seems to me that the recently sold "Young woman at the virginals" is not included. A short statement concerning this very essential matter would have been desirable, even though this volume is only a new edition of an older book (apparently not modified since 1992 or 1993).

FINALLY!!! The publisher got it right...
Johannes Vermeer is--like Da Vinci and Van Gogh--an artist with a huge cult following in the art world. As such, an excess of titles claiming to be "catalogue raisonnes" [ i.e., a 6" x 8" or smaller sized book, usually published by the likes of PHAIDON or ABRAMS, and containing very dull and fuzzy quaility prints of an artist's works ] of the artist's works are published year after year--with the priority of the publishers being on SALES rather than on PRESENTING and showcasing the beauty of each piece of work, with high quality, large prints throughout the book.

I am happy to say that FINALLY, courtesy of the Overlook Press, Vermeer fans are given a juicy and sumptuous presentation of the Dutch artist's paintings, in a large, hardback format with high-resolution images printed to fill the page...YEEEES!!!

Not only are the images of a quality where you can discern Vermeer's boldest and subtlest applications of paint, but the color just GLOWS, even under the palest of flourescent bookstore illumination!

BUY THIS BOOK...YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! ... Read more

Product Description
More than three centuries after he created them, the exquisite, enigmatic paintings of Johannes Vermeer continue to intrigue. In this volume, scholars, conservators, and scientists investigate Vermeer`s art and the milieu in which he worked. They offer insight into the current state of understanding of the Dutch master`s art and focus special attention on the unique qualities of his paintings. ... Read more

Product Description
The canonicity of Jan Vermeer's oeuvre was originally established within the general framework of modernist aesthetics. The specific concepts guiding critics were developed in the context of a reappraisal of Dutch painting in the nineteenth century, particularly in Germany and France. In this study, Christiane Hertel interprets the suppositions underlying Vermeer's canonization and also addresses the critical problem of locating his paintings in history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Problematic
Although written for early elementary schoolers, this work on Vermeer is so filled with factual errors that it subverts the goal of bringing young sensibilities to meet Vermeer's genius. From inaccurately stating the number of Vermeer's children to misrepresenting a portrait of a young artist as a self-portrait by Vermeer (it is rather a likely print made from a painting done by Michiel van Musscher, certainly not a portrait of Vermeer himself), from mischaracterizing Vermeer's St. Luke's Guild as an "organization for people who wanted to learn to paint" to a benighted explanation of Vermeer's painting technique, the book stumbles around relentlessly. Although there are generally good reproductions of some of Vermeer's paintings, the book shows an image of Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring that was taken more than 20 years ago, well before the painting was restored so masterfully in 1994. For the high cost of this book one can purchase many others that are much more compelling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

IF YOU'VE SEEN THE MET EXHIBIT, BUY THIS BOOK!!
After reading "Girl With the Pearl Earring" and seeing the Metropolitan Museum's current 'Vermeer' exhibit, it's hard to stop there. One wants to know more about the man who only has 35 paintings in his catalog raisonnee.But reviewing the Met's exhibition catalog proved too dense with minutia to be readable, even for an Art History major in college.The Pascal Bonafoux "Vermeer" is a perfect companion to the exhibit. It provides large-format illustrations of all 35 paintings, and provides a "cutural context" to the paintings much the way the exhibit did.There are other artists' portraits and scenes used as a comparison to Vermeer's, also the way the exhibit provided. Details from the paintings are shown within the context of society at the time; for example the Postal System is explored in the text while illustrations of letters being read in the paintings are shown. Other topics include "The Beginning of the Scientific Method", "The Geographer" "The Concert" and "Woman Reading a Letter", among others. Written in 1992, Pascal Bonafoux forshadows the Met exhibit in including many of the same paintings which are key to understanding Vermeer. His chapter "Painting in Delft" includes the Carel Fabritius "View of Delft" which was painted to be looked at in a perspective box which is a highlight of the Met show. And even though Bonafoux includes a comparative Delft street scene by Pieter de Hooch, my two favorite Courtyard scenes byde Hooche are not reproduced in the book, so I am very happy I bought the postcards! Although there is no table of contents or index, this is a slim volume which includes a complete Table of Works.With only 35 paintings, this suffices.Also included is an extensive (though "select") bibliography, with an International collection of sources dating back to 1886, and including several standard references as well as periodical articles. Though this is not a detailed scholarly work, it is a FABULOUS book for the price. The only reason it did not earn 5 stars is that the illustrations, while good, are not outstanding. They are missing the whites which jump out of the paintings, and are captured in the only book I did buy at the exhibit, "Vermeer The Complete Works" which is printed on high quality glossy paper, and does justice to the paintings. But if you have seen the exhibit, you will want to own the Bonafoux "Vermeer". Out of print, it is worth the search, and a bargain at the price. ... Read more