Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters

David Hockney

ISBN 10: 0500286388 / ISBN 13: 9780500286388

Published by Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2006

About this Item

Gut/Very good: Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit wenigen Gebrauchsspuren an Einband, Schutzumschlag oder Seiten. / Describes a book or dust jacket that does show some signs of wear on either the binding, dust jacket or pages.

Seller Inventory # M00500286388-V

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters
• Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500286388
• ISBN 13: 9780500286388
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: very good

About this title

Synopsis

The book that turned the art world on its head, now with new and exciting discoveries. Hockney takes his thesis further, demonstrating how Renaissance artists used mirrors and lenses to develop perspective and chiaroscuro – radically challenging our view of how these two foundations of Western art were established.

Table of Contents

Introduction • The Visual Evidence • The Textual Evidence The Correspondence • Endmatter

Review

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. (296 pages, 460 illustrations, 402 in color.) --J.P. Cohen