WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Prestel's "Jan Vermeer" is a volume in its "Living Art" series, and as such is aimed at younger readers, presumably in their teens, but it's a great primer for adults as well, putting the Dutch artist in the context of his era, his country and his town.
There is no aspect of the artist's life left uncovered here, and the book's discussion of Vermeer's use of the camera obscura is particularly clear and cogent.
And while we're on the subject of artists, "The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh" have been published in a very nice edition by Touchstone. This is essentially an edited version of the classic volumes originally published 80 years ago — it would be interesting to see what a new translation could do. A selection of black and white images are something I could have done without, for Van Gogh without color is pointless.
In any case, Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo are always passionate and engaged, as well as brooding, depressed and invariably moving — he so desperately wanted to be a good artist, and it was his tragedy that he never knew he was great.
Mike Browning's Word of the Week...
lunker: an animal or fish that is a particularly large example of its species.
Scott Eyman writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: scott(underscore)eyman(at)pbpost.com.