What do you think?
Rate this book
The Flemish Primitives: The Masterpieces
Intensely realistic, piercingly beautiful, the art of the Flemish Primitives inspires powerful emotional responses. Painted during the fifteenth century, in the southern Netherlands, these influential and enduring works helped establish the foundations of modern European painting.
Sumptuously illustrated with more than two hundred color reproductions, including many newly photographed details, this gorgeous book showcases the art of these master painters of the Northern Renaissance. It focuses on thoughtfully selected major works by the most important of the artists who were later--and rather misleadingly--dubbed the Flemish Robert Campin (the Master of Flémalle), Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Petrus Christus, Dieric Bouts, Hugo van der Goes, Hans Memling, and Gerard David.
Working at the hub and heart of the Burgundian realm, these artists ushered in the triumph of realism. Their new system of painting in transparent layers yielded colors of a saturation and depth never before seen and imbued their sensual human forms with a stunning luminosity. They developed new symbolic associations, experimented with light, and expressed the cultural changes taking place around them, including a heightened spirituality and the emergence of a wealthy bourgeoisie.
Dirk de Vos's fluidly written text highlights the artists' remarkable technical innovations while also considering the rapidly evolving economic and social milieu in which they worked. The result is both a thoughtful assessment of some of Europe's greatest masterpieces and a glorious tribute to the artists who bestowed them on the world.
Sumptuously illustrated with more than two hundred color reproductions, including many newly photographed details, this gorgeous book showcases the art of these master painters of the Northern Renaissance. It focuses on thoughtfully selected major works by the most important of the artists who were later--and rather misleadingly--dubbed the Flemish Robert Campin (the Master of Flémalle), Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Petrus Christus, Dieric Bouts, Hugo van der Goes, Hans Memling, and Gerard David.
Working at the hub and heart of the Burgundian realm, these artists ushered in the triumph of realism. Their new system of painting in transparent layers yielded colors of a saturation and depth never before seen and imbued their sensual human forms with a stunning luminosity. They developed new symbolic associations, experimented with light, and expressed the cultural changes taking place around them, including a heightened spirituality and the emergence of a wealthy bourgeoisie.
Dirk de Vos's fluidly written text highlights the artists' remarkable technical innovations while also considering the rapidly evolving economic and social milieu in which they worked. The result is both a thoughtful assessment of some of Europe's greatest masterpieces and a glorious tribute to the artists who bestowed them on the world.
- GenresArtArt History
216 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 2003
23 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 14, 2019
Wonderful illustrations with highlighted details
February 23, 2011
This is a beautiful book and it taught me a great deal about the wonderful paintings in it. I loved the detailed close up views of the art, which allowed me to see things I can't in the full paintings, even if I was in a museum looking at them in person. The text is fairly academic and difficult words such as mandorla, oeuvre, and novitiate are quite common, and it isn't a book that can be rushed through. After reading the book I really feel that I know more about some of my favorite paintings.
April 27, 2009
A beautiful book! Wonderful for the fascinated beginner. I adored this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews