David Hockney's book is a visual treat. The sumptuous illustrations from the 14th to the 19th century merit the price of the book. It also claims to be a work on art history, to present Hockney's finding about technological breakthroughs in painting techniques.

Hockney shows that beginning in 1430 artists used lenses to project images upon canvas and then trace these to achieve a hitherto unseen perfection in representation. At first small lenses were used which captured only smaller objects, so that artists using this technique were forced to assemble larger paintings like a puzzle. Around 1600, mirrors and larger lenses allowed artists to project complete humuans onto their canvasses adding much realism to the paintings. With the advent of the new technology of photography in the 1830s, realistic representation reached a new height until most painters abandoned the field to photography.

Hockney uses a visual, inductive method to present his findings which, unfortunately, is not a scientific proof. Some of his examples are very convincing, others look a bit strained. In my opinion, he is on safe ground regarding the shift in painter's mistakes. We have enough evidence that lenses were used. Often, however, he lacks evidence to prove that certain artists used lenses. Artistic perfection is no proof for the use of lenses in itself. It is also a puzzle why many of the greatest artists did not use this technique. Why, given the superiority of this method, would Rubens and Rembrandt not use it? They were quite business-oriented and would have cherished this time-saving device. The absence of sketches is only an indicator not a proof.

Overall, one has to appreciate David Hockney's wonderful book and his efforts to combine art and research. I learned a lot about painting techniques. THe book has changed how I look at pictures. The highly recommended BBC documentary about the same topic by David Hockney presents his arguments in an even more dramatic way. ( )

Mysterious, controversial…
lots to chew on!

Recommended by: Justine

Convincing and beautiful, but redundant. ( )