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Art » Art History

Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama
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Rembrandt's Eyes

by Simon Schama

Recommendations from our site

“I chose this book because Simon Schama is such a wonderful writer. He has guts…He goes all the way, with all the senses engaged. Reading Schama is like stepping into a time machine. You can smell the paint, the poor quality of the air above Amsterdam’s canals, centuries ago…Rembrandt’s Eyes reads almost like a novel. He goes very far with some of his speculations, but I find it marvellous that Schama can do this about a foreign country—one that he didn’t even grow up in. It’s a real accomplishment of cultural empathy, and of course of bringing another time alive. He writes a book at once about a Dutch hero (and Rembrandt’s competition with Rubens, the Flemish master) and about Dutch history with the authority of a native…You have to remember: the only way to write about history or about a fabulous figure like Rembrandt is by being a storyteller. You have to use words, images, metaphors to kiss the past alive—and that is exactly what Schama does. I admire him for it. And since we’re talking about art, so much comes down to interpretation. Adopting an interpretive technique I think is fitting for the subject matter. What he does is to create a richer picture for the reader.” Read more...

The best books on Rembrandt

Onno Blom, Art Historians, Critics & Curator

Other books by Simon Schama

A History of Britain, Volume III: The Fate of the Empire 1776–2000 by Simon Schama

A History of Britain, Volume III: The Fate of the Empire 1776–2000
by Simon Schama

Belonging: The Story of the Jews 1492–1900 by Simon Schama

Belonging: The Story of the Jews 1492–1900
by Simon Schama

The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age by Simon Schama

The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age
by Simon Schama

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
by Simon Schama

Landscape & Memory by Simon Schama

Landscape & Memory
by Simon Schama

Our most recommended books

  • Ways of Seeing
    by John Berger

  • The Lives of the Artists
    by Giorgio Vasari

  • Camera Lucida
    by Roland Barthes

  • Rembrandt: The Painter at Work
    by Ernst van de Wetering

  • Naked: A Cultural History of American Nudism
    by Brian Hoffman

  • The Reformation of the Image
    by Joseph Leo Koerner

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