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Svetlana Alpers
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The Art of Describing: Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century Paperback – April 15, 1984

by Svetlana Alpers (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 27 ratings
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"The art historian after Erwin Panofsky and Ernst Gombrich is not only participating in an activity of great intellectual excitement; he is raising and exploring issues which lie very much at the centre of psychology, of the sciences and of history itself. Svetlana Alpers's study of 17th-century Dutch painting is a splendid example of this excitement and of the centrality of art history among current disciples. Professor Alpers puts forward a vividly argued thesis. There is, she says, a truly fundamental dichotomy between the art of the Italian Renaissance and that of the Dutch masters. . . . Italian art is the primary expression of a 'textual culture,' this is to say of a culture which seeks emblematic, allegorical or philosophical meanings in a serious painting. Alberti, Vasari and the many other theoreticians of the Italian Renaissance teach us to 'read' a painting, and to read it in depth so as to elicit and construe its several levels of signification. The world of Dutch art, by the contrast, arises from and enacts a truly 'visual culture.' It serves and energises a system of values in which meaning is not 'read' but 'seen,' in which new knowledge is visually recorded."—George Steiner, Sunday Times

"There is no doubt that thanks to Alpers's highly original book the study of the Dutch masters of the seventeenth century will be thoroughly reformed and rejuvenated. . . . She herself has the verve, the knowledge, and the sensitivity to make us see familiar sights in a new light."—E. H. Gombrich, New York Review of Books
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  1. Print length
    302 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University of Chicago Press
  4. Publication date
    April 15, 1984
  5. Dimensions
    7 x 0.8 x 10 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0226015130
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0226015132
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Chicago Press; Revised ed. edition (April 15, 1984)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 302 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0226015130
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0226015132
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.7 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.8 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 27 ratings

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Svetlana Alpers

Svetlana Alpers

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4.6 out of 5 stars
27 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Jerry Thompson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Svetlana Alpers draws on a vast knowledge of her subject ...
    Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Svetlana Alpers draws on a vast knowledge of her subject to choose telling examples to discuss. She looks at these examples very closely, with a fresh eye, and connects what she sees to an understanding of European intellectual history as thorough and perceptive as her knowledge of the art she discusses. Though she mentions photography directly in only one long footnote--and what a footnote it is!--every point she makes cries out to be applied to photographic seeing.
    This is a truly important book. It belongs on the same shelf as Panofsky and Gombrich.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Matthew L. Jacobs
    4.0 out of 5 stars Approachable book to a dry subject (in my opinion)
    Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    I thought that Alpers did a good job of explaining the motivation behind 17th century dutch art without being too boring.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • P. Coolsen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2015
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    A fascinating thesis about the Dutch pre-dispositon for describing in their painting and in their photography.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Downtown Pearl
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    too dense
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  • Stephen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2013
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    Amazingly detailed and well researched. Quite interesting and appropriate to our contemporary culture in the US. Not your standard art history text
    2 people found this helpful
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  • T. Lunn
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Describing
    Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2001
    An analysis of the 17th century Dutch preoccupation with vision, the discovery and use of the microscope, lenses, optical devises, the study of the retina and how we see, new ideas of perspective and a discussion of the work of noted scholars of the day, as Keppler and Huygens. A fascinating discussion of Vermeer painting exactly what he saw while Rembrandt painting "the invisible human depths." A very fine study designed to help us think and see.
    31 people found this helpful
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  • E. Waller
    4.0 out of 5 stars The Art Of Describing: Dutch Art In The 17th Century
    Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2013
    So far this book itself is written very well; however the book's binding is cheap and fell apart within the first chapter. Every page I turn brakes free from the binding and now I have 30 pages completely unattached (only on page 40). And yes I do know how to start a paperback book by creasing the front cover so as not to brake the binding. Again the book itself is a very pleasant read but I'm super disappointed with the binding.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Jane Gardiner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Book arrived on time in perfect condition
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Research for a new lecture.
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  • José Miguel Cardoso
    3.0 out of 5 stars The paper is too glossy
    Reviewed in Spain on August 30, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    El papel es demasiado satinado. No es agradable al tacto. Es incompatible la lectura en ambientes con mucha luz.
    The paper is too glossy. It is not pleasant to touch. It makes reading uncomfortable in bright surroundings.
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  • pierre desrochers
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on February 25, 2018
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    impeccable
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