Giants of Delft

the long version

"In this interdisciplinary study drawing on the history of art and the history of science, Robert D. Huerta explores the conceptual intersections in the work of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer and the microscopist Antony van Leeuwenhoek, within the broader relationships between painting and science during the seventeenth century." "In a widely researched and deeply considered book, Huerta argues that Vermeer's use of the camera obscura and other instrumental adjuncts parallels van Leeuwenhoek's pursuit of the "optical way," and embodies a profound philosophical connection between these investigators. Analyzing Vermeer's work, Huerta shows that the artist's choices were the result of his personal response to contemporary scientific discoveries, and the work of men such as van Leeuwenhoek, Christiaan Huygens, and Galileo Galilei. Furthermore, Huerta compares Vermeer's program of informed observation to the methods used by van Leeuwenhoek and other scientists to accumulate and analyze instrument-mediated knowledge. This approach enabled Vermeer to confront the same issues as natural philosophers regarding the interpretation of unfamiliar images presented by instrumental systems."--Jacket.