Korte beschrijving/Annotatie

Presents new insights into the work of Giotto, Van Eyck, and Rembrandt

Tekst achterflap

The Italian Renaissance, the Flemish Primitives, the Dutch Golden Age: the great achievements of premodern European painting are connected by a shared visual language. Hand gestures are everywhere in that language. We encounter them in religious art, family portraits, and civic group portraits alike. What do these gestures have to tell us? Previous scholarship has proposed a variety of interpretations. Ingenious and illuminating though they are, these explanations miss a crucial point. Portraits featuring hand gestures can be read as signatures. They draw the viewer’s attention to the makers and commissioners of the artworks in which they appear. Once this insight is gained, no museum visit will ever be the same again.

Slogan/Promotie

The Italian Renaissance, the Flemish Primitives, the Dutch Golden Age: the great achievements of premodern European painting are connected by a shared visual language. Hand gestures are everywhere in that language. We encounter them in religious art, family portraits, and civic group portraits alike. What do these gestures have to tell us? Previous scholarship has proposed a variety of interpretations. Ingenious and illuminating though they are, these explanations miss a crucial point. Portraits featuring hand gestures can be read as signatures. They draw the viewer’s attention to the makers and commissioners of the artworks in which they appear. Once this insight is gained, no museum visit will ever be the same again.

Biografie

Joris Oddens leads a research group at the Huygens Institute and writes about art and history. He previously held research and teaching positions at universities in the Netherlands and Italy.

Details