14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling book about a controversial painting and the 'science' of art attribution, October 16, 2009
This review is from: The American Leonardo: A Tale of Obsession, Art and Money (Hardcover)
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In John Brewer's excellent new book, The American Leonardo, Brewer discusses one of the most controversial paintings of all time: the Hahn La Belle Ferronière. Was this work painted by Leonardo Da Vinci or was it an inferior copy of the La Belle in the Louvre? What was the reaction of the Art world? And how do we really know whether anything we see in an art museum is what it seems to be? Rather than let the story crackle on its own, Brewer has chosen to ponder more philosophical questions. Because of this, the book isn't the fastest read and may not suit some readers. Still, it is an incredibly well written account of the Hahn's story and an eye opening exposé of the underpinnings of the art world.
The story of the Hahn La Belle is an interesting gem of history in and of itself. Brewer, however, is less concerned about this story and, rather, uses it as a vehicle to contrast the differences between the lay person's conception of art and that of the art connoisseur. Brewer's interest does not lie in whether this particular painting was created by Da Vinci. The controversy that Brewer ponders is how can we truly know whether a displayed work of art can be considered authentic.
The Hahn La Belle rocked the foundation of the art world by changing people's perceptions of art authenticity and exposing the weaknesses of how the art community attributes and authenticates art. The public trial between Joseph Duveen, the most influential art dealer at the time, and the Hahn family brought the inexact 'science' of the connoisseur to light for a broader audience and in doing so changed the lay person's perception of art. Brewer skillfully guides the reader through this story.
And therein lies one of the difficulties of this book. Brewer's focus is such that the book reads more like the script of a documentary than it does a novel. He describes the colorful characters that populate the book well enough--the arrogant but charming Joseph Duveen, the blustery, bombastic, yet charming Harry Hahn, and Andree, Hahn's quiet, refined, and attractive wife, to name a few.
But Brewer zeros in more on the history of art authentication: how a small cadre of experts and dealers mixed business with connoisseurship. The prospect of making more money if a painting sold at a higher price often muddied the waters of authenticity. Brewer mostly succeeds in keeping up our interest by fleshing out the stories of each of these characters, but in between there are long stretches about the science (or the lack thereof) of early 20th century art attribution. If the question of art authenticity is a burning one for you, this book will appeal. If not, it will be slow going.
Given that this book is solidly aimed at the layperson, it would have been helpful to describe some of the more technical aspects of renaissance art and art restoration in the early 1900s. I was aware that the Mona Lisa, for example, was painted on a wood panel. But I was unaware that even at the turn of the last century it was a common practice to transfer paintings from wood to canvass in order to preserve them. Brewer makes reference to this, but seems to treat it as common knowledge. I found an article online from the New York Times in 1910 that describes how a restorer, Arthur Dawson, was able to perform this kind of transfer for wealthy clients. It would also have been helpful to know something of the techniques of renaissance painting, the pigments used, and how these elements came to bear when the expert analyzes a painting. A better knowledge of what was available in terms of scientific analysis at the turn of the last century and how this was performed would also have been of help.
Differences are described between the Hahn La Belle and the Louvre La Belle. There is a nice section of pictures in the middle of the book. What's missing here, however, would be two full-color and full-size panels with each of these paintings side by side. Without that, it is often difficult to fully understand what the experts were looking at during the trial and why they came to the conclusions that they did. The pictures in this section were of reasonable quality, but were in black and white. My review copy was not marked as such. Given that this book was already released in the UK, it is likely that I received a final copy. (As an amusing aside, the cover picture is that of the Louvre La Belle.)
The book could not have been released at a more auspicious time. The recent discovery of a 'new' Da Vinci painting may catapult sales of Brewer's book and may even put Brewer himself in the limelight. One can see that the stakes are quite high: if this painting turns out to be a Da Vinci a $19,000 investment could now be worth $150 million dollars. The fact that this latest find was legitimized using state of the art forensic techniques reminiscent of CSI, shows just how much things may have changed since the Old Master's art collection boom, where they relied mostly on the expert's eye.
[ADDENDUM 1/28/2010: According to the New York Times, the Hahn's La Belle sold at Sotheby's to an unidentified American buyer for 1.5 million dollars (including fees), well above the $500,000 estimate. This is an interesting post script to the book. It remains to be seen as to whether the painting will be exhibited at some later date.]
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
To Be Or Not To Be (A da Vinci), September 30, 2009
This review is from: The American Leonardo: A Tale of Obsession, Art and Money (Hardcover)
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Being something of an "art junkie", I really enjoyed this book. But if you are expecting the central tale to be one of art forgery, or if you are looking for a clear-cut resolution at the end of the book you may be disappointed.(No one claims the Hahn painting is a forgery. It's a question of whether it was done by da Vinci, a pupil of da Vinci, or a later copyist.) However, if you can just enjoy reading about some quirky personalities; the infighting between art dealers, museum directors, connoisseurs; and the argument over "subjective" evaluation of pieces of art vs. "objective" (scientific) evaluation of works of art, then I think you will be both entertained and educated by this book. Mr. Brewer is a scholar who both writes well and who has a nice, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor - so the book is not a difficult read. He also realizes that 300 pages of just talking about the Hahn painting might be a little bit boring. So he enlivens the book by bringing in a bit of historical information about how art experts have sometimes gotten egg on their faces by being fooled by forgeries. (Specifically, he writes about the forging of van Goghs by the art dealer Otto Wacker in the 1930's and the 1945 indictment in Amsterdam of the Dutch painter Han van Meegeren, for forging a series of Vermeers.)One thing that Mr. Brewer makes clear is that even though he is a scholar, he is not an art expert. I think this made him a bit gun-shy about drawing conclusions from the conflicting evidence and/or opinions presented by the various experts over the years. I found the "summing up" at the end by the author to be a bit wishy-washy and I think he should have been a bit more open about the conclusions he reached. (But he does present enough information for the average reader to draw his/her own conclusions.) One tantalizing storyline that popped up several times is the serious possibility that the version of "La Belle Ferronniere" that is in the Louvre was not painted by da Vinci. Apparently several well-respected experts have come to this conclusion, but Mr. Brewer does not devote much space in the book to talking about this juicy tidbit. However, on balance, this is a fascinating glimpse into the world of fine art and how ego gratification, wish-fulfillment, money and "protecting one's turf" sometimes clouds the judgment of otherwise sensible and intelligent people.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting topic, but 'American Leonardo' has accessibility issues, March 31, 2010
This review is from: The American Leonardo: A Tale of Obsession, Art and Money (Hardcover)
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As a student of art history, I found John Brewer's book to be quite interesting, if not exactly entertaining. It was a slow read; I could only read it in short bursts, and took over a month to complete it. The writing's dry and covers a lot of territory. Brewer would introduce a man, for example, backtrack several years to tell his personal history and talents, sidestep to explain more about the man's field of expertise, and the history of that field, and then FINALLY come back and advance the main report about 'La Belle' and the painting's history. Ultimately, the book focuses on art criticism and its evolution throughout the 20th century rather than Leonardo Da Vinci and 'La Belle Ferronnière.'
Very little is actually said about the painting. It's described a couple of times, and we are presented with some black-and-white photos...but otherwise very little is said about it or its creator. All the drama focuses on its 20th-century owners and the fight to get it recognized as a legitimate Leonardo painting by "Big Art", the art historians and critics who time and time again dismiss it as a fake or a copy of the 'La Belle' painting found at the Louve (another heavily disputed piece). If any scientific analysis was done on the painting during its various trips to different museums for studies, the results aren't really looked at.
When I read the book, I was disappointed at at the end because there was no definite resolution to the story. 'The American Leonardo' ends with the painting, which had been on the market for decades but never sold, was involved in a court battle for ownership. It seems a pity that Brewer couldn't wait another year to publish this book, as the eighty-plus years attempt to sell 'La Belle' was concluded at auction in January of 2010, where the painting sold for 1.5 million. But perhaps the publicity from the printing of this book helped drive the auction price? Who knows. All I know is that the story of 'La Belle' as told in Brewster's book is unfinished, and for me that was very unsatisfying.
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