Jacobus Vrel: Looking for Clues of an Enigmatic Painter

(Hardback)

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His pictures look curious, his figures introverted and his street scenes strangely stage-like. Jacobus Vrel records everyday life in Holland during the 17th century, and creates quirky worlds at the same time. This volume presents the fascinating complete uvre of a painter whose works were thought to have been painted by Vermeer during the 19th century.

Jacobus Vrel is like a phantom. No written sources describing him or his work have ever been discovered. His existence is documented only by some 50 surviving works which can hardly be compared with those of his contemporaries. His works, in their austerity and sometimes oppressive silence, seem unexpectedly modern, and have been compared to the paintings of Vilhelm Hammershi. With detective-like investigative flair, and on the basis of extensive technical examinations of the paintings, this monograph explores the mysterious pictures of this rediscovered painter.

Reviews

"The beautifully designed catalogue is a joy to read. The essays are written with great clarity and the catalogue section is exemplary: the references and provenances are very reliable and it is illustrated with excellent images, including many details." * Burlington Magazine *
Ebert, Tainturier, and Buvelot have assembled a remarkable work of scholarship. Their books academic essays push us to consider Vrel with fresh eyes and new questions. Newcomers to Vrel will delight in the sensitive readings of his images, and scholars will find new interpretations to explore . . . . Vrel is often evaluated in comparison to other painters, but this monograph allows him the opportunity to stand on his own. It shows that Vrel can simplybeon his own terms, and the history of art is all the better for it. * Historians of Netherlandish Art Reviews *

Author Bio

Quentin Buvelot is senior curator at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Bernd Ebert is head of collections for Dutch and German Baroque painting at the Bayerische Staatsgemldesammlungen in Munich. Ccile Tainturier is curator at the Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt in Paris.