Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered (National Gallery of Art, Washington) [Hardcover]

Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. (Author), E. Melanie Gifford (Contributor), Lloyd DeWitt (Contributor), Gregory Rubinstein (Contributor), Jaap van der Veen (Contributor), Stephanie S. Dickey (Contributor)

Book Description

Series: National Gallery of Art, Washington | Publication Date: October 28, 2008

Jan Lievens (1607–1674) was one of the most fascinating and enigmatic Dutch artists of the 17th century. Daring and innovative as a painter, printmaker, and draftsman, he created powerful character studies, genre scenes, landscapes, formal portraits, and religious and allegorical images that were widely praised and valued during his lifetime. This beautiful book, the first overview of the full range of Lievens’ career, features more than 50 paintings—many of them newly discovered in private collections—and more than 75 prints and drawings, providing a reassessment of his place in the history of art.

 

Lievens began his career in his native Leiden, where he worked closely with his compatriot Rembrandt, who admired and collected Lievens’ works. Lievens then moved to London, Antwerp, and Amsterdam, and his peripatetic career and multitude of working styles, say the authors of this book, may explain why his reputation today is not as high as it should be. This book offers a necessary corrective, returning to Lievens the esteem he deserves.

(20090201)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jan Lievens finally gives the neglected artist his due. . . . [The] catalogue represents the most substantive publication in English on his work."—Art & Antiques

(Art & Antiques )

"This comprehensive illustrated study . . . brings Lievens out from under the shadow of his close friend and associate Rembrandt. . . . Wheelock argues that in some ways, Lievens was the leader and Rembrandt the follower during the early phase of their careers."— Art & Antiques

(Art & Antiques )

"Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered...takes a major step forward in acknowledging the artist as a self-aware, creative mind...This catalogue is comprehensive in its synthesis of past and recent scholarship, thus rendering itself indispensable in the recovery of this son of Leiden."--Jacquelyn N. Coutré, Renaissance Quarterly

(Jacquelyn N. Coutr� Renaissance Quarterly )

About the Author

Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., is curator of Northern baroque painting at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and professor of art history at the University of Maryland.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300142137
• ISBN-13: 978-0300142136
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 10 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,054,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing reproductions, November 3, 2008

By 

L. Dereitzes (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered (National Gallery of Art, Washington) (Hardcover)

I have just viewed the exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. I was most interested in the oil portraits, and I confess I found them stunning. I hoped to purchase the accompanying text, but after looking at both the hard cover copy and the soft cover copy, I chose not to. The quality of the color reproduction is no where near what it needs to be if you want to truly study and appreciate his work. The etchings and woodblock prints are, or course, clear. . .no complaints there, but the gorgeous skin tones which make his oil portraits so stunning are simply not there. I'm just grateful I had a chance to see the originals.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars EXCITING - A great painter from the past comes back to life!!!, April 13, 2009

By 

Claudia Etheridge (Tucson, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered (National Gallery of Art, Washington) (Hardcover)

This is the companion book to the Lievens' exhibition which opened at the National Gallery in Washington the fall of 2008, is presently (through April 26 2009) at the Milwaukee Art Museum and is scheduled to be at the Amsterdam Rembrandthuis from May 17 to August 9 2009.
I have not seen the actual exhibition, but I must admit, the reproductions are not particularly accurate. The colors are not even as luminous as those in the Smithsonian article (March 2009 issue), consequently I can relate to reviewer L. Dereitzes' feelings of disappointment. I was just as disappointed when I discovered a painting by Joachim Patinir (Caronte atravesando la laguna Estigia) at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, then compared it to the reproduction of the same painting in the catalogue. Yet - independently of the fact that art books today seldom reproduce the original with any degree of accuracy - there is a lot more to this volume than the pictures themselves. The main quality is in that it introduces to the present day art world the works of an artist who - although in the same league as his contemporary Rembrandt van Rijn - was, for more than 300 years, practically forgotten. Following his death in 1674, this Bach of the visual arts actually suffered the humiliation of having some of his paintings attributed to Rembrandt and other artists who lived during the same time. Some other paintings were in private collections and again, unknown or forgotten.
Granting the proper credit to an artist who does deserve the credit, and making his works available to the general public (even if not all in perfect reproductions), should be a sufficiently significant accomplishment to justify the 4 stars that I have given to this book.
Besides the painter's works (55 paintings, and more than 75 prints and drawings), the volume includes reproductions by Rembrandt and other contemporary painters, for comparison purposes. Five authors have contributed, which means that much more information is available than we usually find in the average exhibition catalogue. This includes the discussion of the reasons for Lievens' neglect, along with extensive details of his life and patronage, his technique, the portraits - his most common means of expression (although landscapes are prominent as well) - the prints and drawings.
Being able to discover beautiful masterpieces from times gone by is a rare and very exciting experience for any art lover. I thank the editor Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., the three museum directors, the five authors (who are not immediately responsible for the quality of the reproductions) and all the organizers of the exhibition for introducing the painter to us. The book may not be perfect, but it definitely deserves to be in any library that concentrates on the visual artists of the western world.