The Vanishing Velázquez: A 19th Century Bookseller's

The Vanishing Velázquez: A 19th Century Bookseller's Obsession with a Lost Masterpiece

â€œAs compelling and entertaining as a detective novelâ€ (The Economist), the incredible true storyâ€”part art history and part mysteryâ€”of a VelÃ¡zquez portrait that went missing and the obsessed nineteenth-century bookseller determined to prove he had found it.

When John Snare, a nineteenth century provincial bookseller, traveled to a liquidation auction, he found a vivid portrait of King Charles I that defied any explanation. The Charles of the painting was youngâ€”too young to be kingâ€”and yet also too young to be painted by the Flemish painter to whom the piece was attributed. Snare had found something incredibleâ€”but what?

His research brought him to Diego VelÃ¡zquez, whose long-lost portrait of Prince Charles has eluded art experts for generations. VelÃ¡zquez (1599â€“1660) was the official painter of the Madrid court, during the time the Spanish Empire teetered on the edge of collapse. When Prince Charles of Englandâ€”a man wealthy enough to help turn Spainâ€™s fortunesâ€”proposed a marriage with a Spanish princess, he allowed just a few hours to sit for his portrait, and Snare believed only VelÃ¡zquez could have been the artist of choice. But in making his theory public, Snare was ostracized and forced to choose, like VelÃ¡zquez himself, between art and family.

A thrilling investigation into the complex meaning of authenticity and the unshakable determination that drives both artists and collectors of their work, The Vanishing VelÃ¡zquez is a â€œbrilliantâ€ (The Atlantic) tale of mystery and detection, of tragic mishaps and mistaken identities, of class, politics, snobbery, crime, and almost farcical accident that reveals how one historic masterpiece was crafted and lost, and how far one man would go to redeem it. Laura Cummingâ€™s book is â€œsumptuous...A gleaming work of someone at the peak of her craftâ€ (The New York Times).
Country USA
Manufacturer Scribner
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2016-04-12
UnitCount 1
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Scribner
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2016-04-12
UnitCount	1
Format	Kindle eBook

The Vanishing Velázquez: A 19th Century Bookseller's Obsession with a Lost Masterpiece