
Eye of the Beholder
Johannes Vermeer, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, and the Reinvention of Seeing
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Narrated by:
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Tamara Marston
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By:
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Laura Snyder
"See for yourself!" was the clarion call of the 1600s. Natural philosophers threw off the yoke of ancient authority, peered at nature with microscopes and telescopes, and ignited the scientific revolution. Artists investigated nature with lenses and created paintings filled with realistic effects of light and shadow. The hub of this optical innovation was the small Dutch city of Delft.
Here Johannes Vermeer's experiments with lenses and a camera obscura taught him how we see under different conditions of light and helped him create the most luminous works of art ever beheld. Meanwhile his neighbor Antoni van Leeuwenhoek's work with microscopes revealed a previously unimagined realm of minuscule creatures. The result was a transformation in both art and science that revolutionized how we see the world today.
©2015 Laura J. Snyder by arrangement with W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...




















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Just as the subject matter blends humanist and scientific study so is the story told with an ideal mix of historic precision and emotional exploration
The performance is also great.
Beautifully written and well researched
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This book represents serious research and an original perspective, and so may not be entirely to the taste of listeners who do not start out with some knowledge of the 17th century and prefer a faster flowing narrative. But to me it is worth two credits. It is itself a microscope of sorts that gave me a better look into the 17th century. I came away exhilarated and treasuring every page..
Terrific book
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interesting but repetitive
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Eye opening
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Historical knowledge
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Audible Narration
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Historical book about the evolution of optics through the eyes of two geniuses
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But the book drags on, it goes too far afield in chasing down details. I found myself skipping forwards repeatedly, and not feeling like I had missed anything. Would have been far better at 2/3 its current size. The narrator does very well, and to her credit tells us when she is on a footnote and when the note has ended, something other narrators are (incredibly) unable/unwilling to do. She keeps sounding interested in the subject, even when I've lost interest.
Unique perspective, but needs to be tightened up
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