Vermeer

Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found is a powerfully persuasive investigation into the intellectual and devotional world of Vermeer and his circle. Painting by painting, the riddle of the Sphinx is masterfully unravelled … [Andrew Graham-Dixon] trawls the archives, lays out new evidence, links pictures never linked before, and teases new meaning from signs, symbols and sitters … His reading of the paintings is revelatory – Laura Freeman * The Times *Densely researched and highly original …. this book is an extraordinary portrait, flooded with light and colour, and a splendid unfolding of the pressure of meaning in everyday life; in other words, it emulates the special charge of Vermeer’s paintings – Kathryn Murphy * Literary Review *Graham-Dixon puts forward a revolutionary theory… Right, or wrong, it is a theory that will change the way people look at that famous pearl earring, as well as at the painter’s other luminous portraits of lone women – Vanessa Thorpe * Observer *With the skill of a good showman and the meticulousness of a scholar, [Graham-Dixon] …. sets out to illuminate the elusive life of Johannes Vermeer [and] to solve the riddle of the “Girl” herself …. In his quest to decode Vermeer’s work, he draws together a piercingly analytical gaze and some well-informed speculation … There are few better writers to take on the task – Evgenia Siokos * Telegraph *Andrew Graham-DIxon is that rare thing - a tireless scholar and critic who looks beyond the analysis and appreciation of art into its very soul … [his] book seems to be driven by what other works on the artist lack: passion. Anyone who loves art with warm to the beguiling, personal nature of this beautifully written narrative … this is art history as an imaginative leap into a world in which the enlightenment was the only bulwark against chaos, and toleration was - and still is - necessary for civilisation. – Bel Mooney * Scottish Mail *Eloquently argued, engagingly written and ultimately rather moving – Michael Hall * Country Life *

Challenging existing scholarship, Graham-Dixon has a radical new sense ofVermeer [that] focuses afresh on the artist’s social networks and the history and religion of the Dutch Republic

Andrew Graham-Dixon is an art historian, biographer and broadcaster who has made more BBC television series about art than any other presenter. He was for many years the main art critic of the Sunday Telegraph and Independent. Of his biography of Caravaggio, Peter Carey said ‘it is a thrilling lesson in the art of seeing’ and Neil MacGregor wrote ‘the man and his work emerge enriched and enlightened.’ It has been translated into many languages.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.