The eye
Subtitle: an insider's memoir of masterpieces, money, and the magnetism of art
By: Philippe Costamagna ; translated by Frank Wynne
Contributors: Wynne, Frank, translator
Publisher: New Vessel Press
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 243
ISBN-13: 9781939931580
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: Art critics; Art appreciation; Biography; Art historians
Work titles: Histoires d'œils
Description: "It's a rare and secret profession, comprising a few dozen people around the world equipped with a mysterious mixture of knowledge and innate sensibility. Summoned to Swiss bank vaults, Fifth Avenue apartments, and Tokyo storerooms, they are entrusted by collectors, dealers, and museums to decide if a coveted picture is real or fake and to determine if it was painted by Leonardo da Vinci or Raphael. The Eye lifts the veil on the rarified world of connoisseurs devoted to the authentication and discovery of Old Master artworks. This is an art adventure story and a memoir all in one, written by a leading expert on the Renaissance whose métier is a high-stakes detective game involving massive amounts of money and frenetic activity in the service of the art market and scholarship alike. It's also an eloquent argument for the enduring value of visual creativity, told with passion, brilliance, and surprising candor."--From the dust jacket.
Notes: First published in France as Histoires d'oeils, copyright 2016.

Translated from the French.