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Secret
Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters List Price: $60.00
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Hardcover - 296 pages, 460 illustrations, 402 in color. (October 25, 2001)
Viking Press; ISBN: 0670030260 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.26 x 12.23 x 9.76
British
painter David Hockney, well known for his cool and lovely paintings of California
pools, has taken on the new role of detective. For two years Hockney seriously
investigated the painting techniques of the old masters, and like any admirable
sleuth, compiled substantial evidence to support his revolutionary theory. Secret
Knowledge is the fruit of this labor, an exhaustive treatise in pictures revealing
clues that some of the world's most famous painters, Ingres, Velázquez,
Caravaggio (just to mention a few) utilized optics and lenses in creating their
masterpieces. Hockney's fascination with the subject is contagious, and the
book feels almost like a game with each analysis a "How'd they do that?"
instead of a whodunit. While some may find the technical revelation a disappointment
in terms of the idea of genius, Hockney is quick to point out that the use of
optics does not diminish the immensity of artistic achievement. He reminds the
reader that a tool is just a tool, and it is still the artist's hand and creative
vision that produce a work of art. --J.P. Cohen
Recently,
David Hockney, often described as the "world's most popular artist,"
has made headlines not with his own work but with his sensational and controversial
theories about how some of Western art's famous masterpieces—paintings
by artists such as da Vinci, Caravaggio, Velázquez, and Van Eyck—were
actually created. A chance observation of a drawing in London's National Gallery
led Hockney to ask, "How was this done?"
His
answer led to fascinating insights into the history of art: that many of the
world's most revered artists used mirrors and various optical devices—such
as the camera obscura—to project images onto their canvasses and then "traced"
the scenes. Hockney's radical speculations have prompted both astonishment and
outrage from prominent art historians and museum directors worldwide. The debate
aside, Secret Knowledge offers readers the exhilarating opportunity to see the
Old Masters afresh—through the eyes of a living master.
In
Secret Knowledge, hundreds of paintings are reproduced in stunning color plates,
and many are discussed in close and accessible detail. Hockney's own drawings
and photographs illustrate how artists would have used the technology available
to them in rendering their subjects. Extracts from historical and modern documents
provide further evidence while correspondence between Hockney and an impressive
array of international art historians, curators, and scientists details both
the evolution of his theory and the furor that has erupted over it.
About
the AuthorDavid Hockney was born in England in 1937 and studied at the Royal College of Art. He achieved international acclaim by his mid-twenties as part of the pop art movement and has gone on to become one of the best known artists of his generation.
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