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The Portraitist

Frans Hals and His World
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Portraitist by Steven Nadler delves into the life and work of an exceptional 17th-century artist whose identity was hidden in the shadows of his more famous peers. Set against a backdrop of historical intrigue, the biography reveals the painter's journey, struggles, and achievements while offering insight into the vibrant art world of his era, making it a compelling and enlightening read.
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Format: Hardback
$6699
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you are fascinated by the intersections of art, history, and philosophy. It offers an in-depth look into the life and work of an influential artist of the 17th century, exploring both his artistic legacy and personal journey. Ideal for readers who appreciate richly detailed biographies that illuminate the cultural life of early modern Europe.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A biography of the great portraitist Frans Hals that takes the reader into the turbulent world of the Dutch Golden Age.

Frans Hals was one of the greatest portrait painters in history, and his style transformed ideas and expectations about what portraiture can do and what a painting should look like.

Hals was a member of the great trifecta of Dutch Baroque painters alongside Rembrandt and Vermeer, and he was the portraitist of choice for entrepreneurs, merchants, professionals, theologians, intellectuals, militiamen, and even his fellow artists in the Dutch Golden Age. His works, with their visible brush strokes and bold execution, lacked the fine detail and smooth finish common among his peers, and some dismissed his works as sloppy and unfinished. But for others, they were fresh and exciting, filled with a sense of the sitter’s animated presence captured with energy and immediacy.

Steven Nadler gives us the first full-length biography of Hals in many years and offers a view into seventeenth-century Haarlem and this culturally rich era of the Dutch Republic. He tells the story not only of Hals’s life, but also of the artistic, social, political, and religious worlds in which he lived and worked.

The Portraitist by Steven Nadler is a captivating exploration into the life and times of Frans Hals, revealing the artist's unique contribution to portraiture and his enduring legacy in art history.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

In The Portraitist, Steven Nadler constructs a rich quasi-biography of the Dutch painter Frans Hals by vividly illustrating the artistic and social milieu of 17th-century Haarlem. Despite a lack of direct biographical sources about Hals, Nadler effectively uses historical context to bring the painter's life and work into focus, painting a detailed picture of the complex cultural and political landscape Hals navigated. Critics praise Nadler for his adeptness at intertwining the lives of Hals's subjects with broader societal dynamics, offering a compelling portrait of both the artist and his era.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780226698366

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 06 October 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: University of Chicago Press

Illustration: 21 color plates, 61 halftones

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 368

About the Author

Steven Nadler is Vilas Research Professor, the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy, and affiliate professor of art history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His books include Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die; Menasseh ben Israel: Rabbi of Amsterdam; A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age; Spinoza: A Life, Second Edition, which won the Koret Jewish Book Award; and Rembrandt's Jews, which was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author, with his son Ben Nadler, of the graphic book Heretics! The Wondrous (and Dangerous) Beginnings of Modern Philosophy. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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