TAKE A CLOSER LOOK

Arasse was a terrific writer with a brilliant mind and this book is redolent with wit and intellectual authority. He has a wonderful way of asking questions, of taking the reader with him on his intellectual journey. In this case each journey begins with the probl em posed by a single prominent old-master painting, and ranges widely from there across interpretive and historical concerns. The in formal, speculative, and performative quality of Arasse?s voice in these pages will help assure the book?s wide appeal and accessibi lity.