Traces of Vermeer
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Traces of Vermeer Details
Review "Featuring wonderful illustrations, engaging prose, and a deep knowledge of the craft, this is a study in art history and methodology to delight an audience beyond just visual artists." - Kirkus, Starred Review "Artist Jane Jelley probed the issue pragmatically. Before assessing any use of camera obscura, she investigates the tools, materials and studio Vermeer was known to have used, and his virtuosic layering of paint." - Nature "I find this revelatory and wholly convincing. Jelley devotes a chapter to the history of art innovation, in a Netherlands that was the California of its day, and explores it in depth." - The Guardian "A fascinating exercise and assay, Traces of Vermeer (Oxford) serves as an elucidating technical accompaniment to the broader scope of Vermeer in Detail... Jelley's engaging prose is a boon to both scholars and casual art appreciators." - Politics & Prose "Traces of Vermeer, a meaty and intensely interesting new book by Jane Jelley... Through her own understanding of the craft, she comes as close as anybody can to understanding both the mechanics and the inner lives of masterpieces like 'A Lady Writing,' 'Young Woman with a Water Jug,' 'A Woman Holding a Balance,' or 'Girl with a Pearl Earring.' And she's bluntly honest enough to acknowledge repeatedly that these investigations only reach so far." - Christian Science Monitor "First, it should be noted that her writing is elegant and clear, and she accurately summarizes much of the scholarly background on Vermeer, his home life, the Dutch Golden Age, and more. She has deep historical and practical knowledge of pigments, supports, and mixing practices likely used by Vermeer." - Leonardo "To be sure, Traces of Vermeer is an invitation for us to not only embrace Vermeer's world, but to also ask or decipher to what degree he may, or may not have used some sort of lens through a camera obscura." - David Marx Book Review "This is not another speculative Vermeer biography, a fill-in-the-gaps, guesswork life. This is Vermeer the painter, by a painter.... Jelley's meticulous approach yields fascinating insights.'" - Literary Review "Well-researched... vivid... fascinating." - Tablet "Magnificent." - Al Femminile "A fascinating approach that throws up a plethora of intriguing details that add to the texture of Vermeer's life and technique... Jelley's ingenious experiment offer[s] a plausible suggestion as to how he set about his magical paintings." - Sunday Times "An absolute delight. A rich and highly original exploration of Vermeer's life and work seen through the eyes of a practising painter." - Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe"Jane Jelley adds a unique perspective on Vermeer's techniques and style." - Johan Wagemans, University of Leuven Read more About the Author Jane Jelley is a painter, specializing in still life and landscape, who became intrigued by the unusual qualities of Vermeer's pictures, and the lively arguments about whether he used a camera obscura. Familiar with traditional materials, Jane decided to find out for herself whether there was a practical way to transfer an images from a lens to a canvas, and she published a paper about her experiments in 2013. Jane lives and works in Oxford. Read more
Reviews
A modern-day English painter, Jane Jelley, sheds clear light on how the elusive Johannes Vermeer might have gone about creating his works that are now so rare and highly valued. While I have never seen Ms. Jelley's own art work, if it is as good as her scholarship and gift with words, it is exceptional.If you have an interest in old Dutch social history, especially as related to Delft; how colors, and other tools of the 17th century artist were once manufactured; the early days of optics and lens-making; or simply in Vermeer's life and magical paintings, this is a book for you."Traces of Vermeer" is aided by numerous useful pictures, which are expertly placed to assist in explaining the relevant text; by helpful end-notes; and by a solid bibliography.