Vermeer And Plato

the long version

"In a study that sweeps from Classical Antiquity to the seventeenth century, Robert D. Huerta explores the common intellectual threads that link the art of Johannes Vermeer to the philosophy of Plato. Examining the work of of luminaries such as Plotinus, Nicholas of Cusa, St. Augustine, Ficino, Raphael, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, and Huygens, Huerta argues that the concurrence of idealism and naturalism in Vermeer's art reflects the Dutch master's assimilation of Platonic and classical ideals, concepts that were part of the Renaissance revival of classical thought. Vermeer's mature works, while copying appearances in a classical manner, are imbued with an abstract character informed by his pursuit of the Platonic Ideal. There are thirty-six illustrations."--Jacket.