The Vexations of Art: Velazquez and Others (Paperback)

by Professor Svetlana Alpers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"'The Vexations of Art is an engrossing, passionate attempt to re-engage with painting as a mode of thought at a time when 'it is not clear in what form the resource of painting - for surely painting has been a singular resource of the greater European culture - will continue.' Jackie Wullschlager, Financial Times 'A fascinating book that will surely generate discussion for some time to come.' Mindy Nancarrow, Renaissance Quarterly"

Product Description

Now available in paperback

A major art historian reflects on a great tradition of European painting.

 

"The Vexations of Art is an engrossing, passionate attempt to re-engage with painting as a mode of thought at a time when 'it is not clear in what form the resource of painting—for surely painting has been a singular resource of the greater European culture—will continue."—Jackie Wullschlager, Financial Times

 

"[A] fascinating book that will surely generate discussion for some time to come."—Mindy Nancarrow, Renaissance Quarterly

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (December 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300126131
• ISBN-13: 978-0300126136
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #293,037 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Non ha'l ciel cotanti lumi", February 15, 2007

By	Doug - Haydn Fan (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Vexations of Art: Velazquez and Others (Hardcover)

Doktor Alpers is one of the Super Novas of Art History, and as the Monteverdi song title suggests, she luminates far more than most of her starry peers. Starting with Rembrandt, along with Rubens the core of artistic values and sensibility for this stellar intelligence, we are taken through a carefully grounded argument, arriving finally at Velazquez, and "The Spinners". Alpers never falters as she unveils a plethora of critical perspectives, analyzes each in a dizzingly narrative convergence, and leaves mere mortal readers to return to her pages and consider the embarras de richesses she bestows. Alpers is never easy, but neither is she deliberately obscure; her chapter on Rembrandt's painting of Bathsheba is a model of clarity: a privileged sharing of Alper's lifetime of considered wisdom.
Alper's books are events in the best sense of the word; each as brilliant as an illuminated book. Her works inevitably follow one all-pervading rule - "Let there be light!" And what better touchstone for an historian of art?