Vermeer: Faith in Painting (Revised)

Through a historical analysis of Vermeer's method of production and a close reading of his art, Daniel Arasse explores the originality of this artist in the context of seventeenth-century Dutch painting. Arguing that Vermeer was not a painter in the conventional, commercial sense of his Dutch colleagues, Arasse suggests that his confrontation with painting represented a very personal and ambitious effort to define a new pictorial practice within the classical tradition of his art.Vermeer has always proved an elusive artist, yet he has also held a special fascination.... [This book] makes considerable headway in outlining the reasons.... Arasse ... brings both a nicely calibrated visual sensitivity and a thoughtful analytical bent to the pictures themselves [and] lay[s] out what he considers to have been a painting program by Vermeer.Larry Silver, American Historical ReviewThe most important work to date on Vermeer's theory of painting and his oeuvre. Burnished by the excellent translation by Terry Grabar, this study presents a thoughtful assessment of Vermeer's personal interpretation of the nature of art.Linda K. Varkonda, Sixteenth Century JournalThis intense, impassioned book reflects the ways in which we continue to be enthralled by the magic of Vermeer's light and deft touch.Virginia Quarterly Review