|
|
Article: Rembrandt's Eyes.(Review)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- June 21, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Rembrandt's Eyes. By Simon Schama. Knopf, 750 pp., $50.00.
IN THIS LAVISH new book, Simon Schama explores the boisterous, dynamic, capitalist society of 17th-century Holland through the eyes of the artist who, more than any other, has become synonymous with its vividly expressive pictorial culture. This biography of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) provides the pretext for a wide-ranging discussion of an era ripe with invention in science, economics and the arts.
The title of the book, printed on the dust jacket over a close-up of one of Rembrandt's many penetrating self-portraits, alludes to the power of sight itself, a recurring metaphor (along with its ...