The Vanishing Velázquez: A 19th Century Bookseller's Obsession with a Lost Masterpiece
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.76 (716 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B01COOWHJ6 |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 475 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-01-17 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
John D. Cofield said Obsession Through The Centuries. Diego Velazquez is rightfully accounted one of the greatest of painters, and also as one of the least understood. He is remembered for a series of magnificent portraits, usually of seventeenth century Spanish royalty and nobility but also including many perceptive studies of servants, court dwarfs, and other menials. With the slightest touch of his brush he could depict his sitters' inner characters so well that some, including the King of Spain, often refused to pose for him lest he reveal . A hunt for a painting Jill Meyer About 35 years ago, I noticed a painting in a window of a local art gallery/semi-curiosity shop in the Chicago suburb where I lived. It was a largish painting of a young girl in Spanish court garb, and looked for all the world like a painting by Diego Velazquez. The painting was priced at $2000 - well-beyond my budget at the time - but I would visit the shop window almost daily for a few months, until it was sold. Could this painting be a Velazquez? For a mere $2000? I never would know but I. Don't buy on Kindle! Wanted to give a heads up for all readers NOT to buy this on Kindle. Much of the importance of the book lies in the author's descriptions of the art. It is important to be able to actually see the art, but Kindle only shows it in black and white. And it is desirable to flip back and forth, to read the author's description and then look at the plate. This is very complicated on Kindle. That being said, I pushed myself to read about 1/3 through and finally decided Amazon shouldn't be selling t
Snare believed only Velázquez could have met this challenge. It is a magnificently crafted pause resister, a testimony to how and why great works of art can affect us to the point of obsession.. When John Snare, a 19th-century provincial bookseller, traveled to a liquidation auction, he stumbled on a vivid portrait of King Charles I that defied any explanation. Snare had found something incredible - but what? His research brought him to Diego Velázquez, whose long-lost portrait of Prince Charles has eluded art experts for generations. When Prince Charles of England - a man wealthy enough to help turn Spain's fortunes - ventured to the court to propose a marriage with a Spanish princess, he allowed just a few hours to sit for his portrait. But in making his theory public, Snare was ostracized, victim to aristocrats and critics who accused him of fraud, and forced to choose, like Velázquez himself, between art and family. A thrilling investigation into the complex meaning of authenticity and the unshakable determination that drives both artists and collectors of their work, The Vanishing Velázquez travels from extravagant Spanish courts in the 1700s to the gritty courtrooms and auction houses of 19th-century London and New York. Velázqu