The fee for this event is ($15).
Laura Snyder
Eye of the Beholder: Johannes Vermeer, Antoni von Leeuwenhoek, and the Reinvention of Seeing
During the seventeenth century in the small Dutch city of Delft, Johannes Vermeer explored how we see under different conditions of light and created luminous works through his experiments with lenses and a camera obscura. The work of Vermeer has often been explored by scholars and artists alike. The Boston Athenæum has several paintings by one of the most notable of these artists, George Deem. Three of these paintings are currently on display in the hallway to the Children’s Library to coincide with discussion by acclaimed historian, Laura J. Snyder, about her recent book, Eye of the Beholder: Johannes Vermeer, Antoni von Leeuwenhoek, and the Reinvention of Seeing.
In her book, Synder not only tells the remarkable story of how Johannes Vermeer transformed the way we see the world, but also of contemporary scientist and neighbor, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek. The scientist's microscopic work revealed a previously unimagined realm of minuscule creatures. Together, through the investigation of nature with lenses and creation of paintings filled with realistic effects of light and shadow, they revolutionized how we see the world today.
Fulbright scholar, Laura J. Snyder, is a professor at St. John’s University and the author of The Philosophical Breakfast Club, a Scientific American Notable Book. She writes for the Wall Street Journal and lives in New York City.
Registration for this event will begin on March 24 at 9:00 a.m.
