Soul of the Eye

by Michael Levey

An anthology of painters and paintings which includes contemporary accounts of Watteau, Monet, Rubens, the final meeting between Reynolds and Gainsborough, and many others. There are reflections by painters on creativity and the tribulations of the creative life. It includes Constable's remarks on a de Hooch painting which has been presented to him, Matisse's summary of his creative vision and art dealer Rene Gimpel's contrast of Fra Angelico and Gentile de Fabriano.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 22, 1990

About the author

Sir Michael Vincent Levey (8 June 1927 - 28 December 2008) was an English art historian and was the director of the National Gallery from 1973 to 1986.