Rembrandt is a formidable, mighty motor of thinking. But the thinking never feels like a semenar. It's said of late rembrandt that he couldn't draw. He was sort of apathetic, really van care about the loose iron. His hands are this phenomenal whir of motion. You won't see hands like that again until we get to impressionism. And there's one painting, i don't know, i think i might finish with this one, actually, a my deai. Have you seen it in the flesh? Now you could get a little ticket at ragg’s museum and go down the road and see tat any more.
We compare the works of two of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age: Rembrandt and Vermeer. Making the case for Rembrandt van Rijn in this debate was historian, author and broadcaster Simon Schama. For Schama, Rembrandt's works are raw humanity personified with formal beauty being the least of the painter's concerns. Novelist Tracy Chevalier, however, champions Johannes Vermeer. She claims that the artist's charm lies in the very fact that he absents himself from his paintings and as a result they are less didactic and more magical.
The debate was chaired by art historian, writer and museum director, Tim Marlow.
For a list of works referenced in this debate, along with links to each, please go to:
https://intelligencesquared.com/events/rembrandt-vs-vermeer-titans-of-dutch-painting-simon-schama-tracy-chevalier/
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